Time flies when...

Time flies when you are waiting for these guys. Literally I feel like I just moved here and the thing I have been most looking forward to, the thing that I was sure would feel ages away is almost here.

These kids are coming to visit:

Andrew, Kendra and Christine are coming to visit and will be here in the UAE for Thanksgiving. I am so excited to have them here (Edith and Ken, thank you for letting Christine leave the country for this year's Thanksgiving)!

It's a Celebration (the early release version- more to come)

This week we kick off the start of Oasis Hospital Celebrating it's 50th Anniversary! Wednesday, November 10th we hosted an event for local business owners and friends of Oasis Hospital to celebrate our 50 years of service in the community. Originally the Crown Prince of the country was scheduled to attend and at the last minute could not and instead sent his brother.

The military brought in the helicopter that Sheihk Mohammed (the Crown Prince) flew when he was in the service. I had the chance to sit in it (with permission of course!) Here are some cool pictures from the day!
The Sheihk and Mr. Printy, the President of our Hospital and a member of our Advisory Board.

Brushfire Fairytales

Life in Al Ain has been busy this past week- a good kind of busy. So there is no need to "slow down everyone you're moving too fast..." I will let those of you who can make this lyrical connection figure that one out.

At work we are preparing for the Hospital's 50th Anniversary Celebration (here is some quick history) - the Hospital opened in November of 1960. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan had experienced American medical care in Bahrain and as a result asked a western couple (who were doctors) to open a similar hospital in Al Ain. At that time, the local population was declining in numbers and Infant mortality was 50% and maternal mortality was 35%.

We are hosting the event at this very cool Palace Museum which was the home of one of his wives. Tonight we went to walk through the palace to see what the lighting will be like for the evening event and it feels like a palace should feel- sort of like Cinderella's Castle the middle eastern version, we have the chance to create a fairytale of our own! I am very excited to be a part of the planning process with Jessie. As frustrating as it is working in a place where language is a barrier and work ethics widely differ we are still managing to laugh during the work days!

I pass by this bike every morning walking into work- a guy who comes to the hospital to set up

something like a magazine stand rides this full of candy, gum, toys and magazines onto the campus. I see him pass by the windows of my apartment and then about 30 minutes later I see this bike (now empty) sitting outside. This man sits outside for about 9 hours a day and does absolutely nothing but wait for customers. I am thinking I should encourage him to start reading or learning something new. It does not seem like a very fun life.

The bag says Gulf Todays a newspaper that is distributed all over the Persian Gulf.

Again- here is a little treat for you ladies. Just a taste of some of the shopping that is here in the UAE. They have quite the style. Does anyone else think this looks like a prom dress from the Deb Shop? It's the same style but, very expensive material and real crystals!

It's feeling like I live here

My first 3 weeks in the UAE I lived at Trey and Jessie's house and then moved here to my current apartment. So, for 3 weeks I felt like I was on vacation. Not so much anymore. I feel like I live here now. Here are some normal things you do when you live somewhere and my status updates on them.

Making Friends:

It's easy to make friends but, it's hard to find people you just want to kick back and relax with. I think that's true anywhere you go in the world, this is why people live in the same place for a long time. I think this hopping around thing could be tough if I was doing it a lot. A little bit of everything contributes to the fact that it's tough to make friends. One friend blocking factor (FBF) is culture- here in the UAE local women must follow a few rules. One of which is not going out of your house alone or without permission from your parents. This weekend I had made plans with a new friend to go to the mall. I was dressed and ready for our adventure at 10am as planned. At about 11:15am I received a text explaining that she could not go because her mother would not allow her. She is 28 years old. Enough said.

Grocery Shopping:

You don't usually grocery shop on vacation. Here I am at LuLu Hypermarket .

Don't worry I don't buy the camel milk, this was just for the picture! They do have regular milk so I buy that. This week I decided to by some feta cheese for salads, I walked up to the counter and pointed to the feta and said "feta, just a little bit". The man who understands english just fine nods his head and grabs a container "half a kilo?" I get nervous remembering that this is not equivalent to a pound. I smile and hope he doesn't think dumb blonde "I'm not sure" I point again to a hunk of the cheese that is floating in the water, he throws it in the container and asks "is that enough?". "Yes, thanks" I am on my way now. One thing down.

I get home and make a salad and begin unwrapping the cheese and notice it smells and looks a little odd. I ask Trey "is this feta" and he points out that I bought Saudi Arabian Feta... who would have known that people in Saudi Arabia like to eat feta that smells like goat breath. It was not what I think feta cheese should be like.

Lesson learned.

Stylin'

I am realizing that this post will make it seem that all I do here is shop, but I work too! The truth is girls are the same all over the world and the ladies here love to shop!

I needed some nail polish remover the other night and I asked my friend Shiny to help me find

some. We walked across the street to "Gift City" yes, this is really the name of the store. I thought to myself " I don't need a gift I need nail polish remover", Shiny has lived here for about 25 years so I followed her in. There it was along with everything else you could ever want. Nail polish remover in the tiniest bottle for only 2.5 dirhams that's about 75 cents. Along with some of the tackiest purses ever. Check this one out, I don't think the photo does this justice.

The Dragon Mart

I went to Dubai on Friday with Trey and Jessie and some friends we have made here, 0r I should say I went to the Dragon Mart. This place is like all of China crammed into one mall. It's set up like the BigE, there are lots of tiny booths and they are all in their designated sections. For example all the shops that sell watches or wires or key chains, they clump in one area. It is indoors and it is air conditioned but, it was still quite warm and there were way too many people! I don't think I need to go there again. (Note: the fountain behind me and Amil in this photo has a huge dragon in the center)

But, I did get to ride in our friend's new FJ Cruiser this made for an exciting ride from Al Ain to Dubai.

The desert is really pretty, it almost looks fake when you are driving on the highway and all you can see on either side for about 40 minutes is sand dunes and sunshine.

After the Dragon Mart we made our way to Ikea and I bought a few things for my room at my apartment. So, on Saturday I moved out of Trey and Jessie's house and into my apartment. I was sad to leave the Hulsey Hotel but, my commute to work is now a total of 3 minutes. All of my things will arrive on Monday the 11th and you will see some photos of my room then!

Sort of like home but...just a little different

So, I have been doing a little shopping for my new apartment. I will buy a mattress today at Ikea and then move into my apartment tonight. But last week I bought towels, sheets, a duvet cover, hangers and a ton of other stuff you need for an apartment. I am hoping to get some lamps and other fun things today.

I had to show a few of you this picture though- I can't get it to turn the right way!

In Stop and Shop in Allston, MA Nikki and Annie always loved to use these little baskets and Desiree found some of these in Agawam, MA as well and thought they were just her size. Funny enough these were the only carts they had at this store for me to put all of these towels in.

Another thing that is sort of like home but, just not quite right is pizza here! It's the small things that remind me that I am in another country. Check out the Italian Pizza with the Arabic writing. I guess it's just as funny as us calling our pizza in America Italian but, let me assure you there are not Italians making this pizza.