30 spankings in Sri Lanka

Yeah, yeah, I'm 30. Big deal. I still feel about, oh, maybe 22. Anyway, we decided to do something a little crazy to celebrate and take the family to Sri Lanka (the island just off the southern tip of India). The trip started out a little shaky, with a flight that left at 3 am (not fun with 3 small kids) and Nick getting sick the first night (he had flashbacks of his first trip to India...if you don't know that story be sure to ask him) but it turned out to be a great little getaway. Here are some pictures:

The first thing we realized when we got there is that seat belts are a luxury. We had to send our first driver away because there were NO seat belts anywhere in the van. Our second van had 3, all lap belts and since Nick is worth more dead than alive we gladly jumped in. Plus, it didn't really matter because of the traffic there. And by traffic I mean, pedestrians, wild dogs, bikes, tuk-tuks (keep reading) and cows, like the ones above waiting at a bus stop. See, they're sacred to Hindus and always have the right of way. Our 60 mile trip took just over 4 hours.

Our first stop was the city of Kandy up in the mountains. It was a beautiful, tropical paradise. Many Christians believe Sri Lanka to be the Garden of Eden and Kandy is the jewel of the country. Our hotel was located up a one lane, windy mountain road. We enjoyed nature walks in the jungle and Nick even managed to catch a couple of leeches...the hard way.

The 2 main tourist attractions in Kandy are the botanical gardens and the Temple of the Tooth. The gardens are a collection of trees and plants from around the world, many of which were brought to the island by aristocrats during British occupation. The boys are looking at a scorpion on a banana leaf.

The Temple of the Tooth is a temple dedicated to an actual tooth of Lord Buddha. The tooth was smuggled out of India in the hair of an Indian princess shortly after Buddha's death. Each year there is a festival commemorating this event and it includes a parade of decorated elephants.

One of the highlights of Kandy was walking through the streets checking out some of the little shops. I managed to pick up a little Polo shirt for Drew for about $ 3 US. Check the tags on your clothes. Many are made in Sri Lanka. Notice the Buddha statue on top of the mountain above.

Next, we went to an elephant orphanage in the city of Pinnawella. There are over 70 elephants that have been rescued. There are over 15,000 wild elephants on the island. One elephant was blind and another only had 3 legs. We got to see the trainers feed the baby elephants their bottles of milk. It was neat to be that close to so many elephants.

We even got to ride them. Don't worry, the chains are for us passengers and do not hurt the elephants at all.

Nick was a little nervous with Drew on such a large animal.

On the actual day of the big 3-0 we parked it here, at the beach in the city of Bentota.

The kids had fun looking for crabs, fish and sea anemones. The big boys and Nick took a boatride out to a small rocky island for some snorkling.

On the way to Colombo, our final stop, we visited a turtle hatchery. These baby turtles were 2 days old. We could touch them and pick them up.

These turtles are about 3 months old. Bret and Cole really loved this.

This is a tank that was destroyed by the tsunami of 2004. Between 30,000 and 50,000 people were killed by the tsunami in Sri Lanka. About 5 miles down the road from where we stayed, there was a train that was washed away by a 60 foot surge. The water was so strong, that it moved the 80 ton locomotive over 200 meters from the track, killing all 2,000 passengers. We heard this story from many of the locals while we were there. Also, 50,000 turtle eggs were washed away. Pretty crazy.

This is a tuk-tuk and when going out in Colombo, this is how we got around. At first we were cautious, and took 2 - the big boys and me in one and Nick, Drew and the stroller in the other. Then we figured, when in Rome (or Colombo) and crammed everyone into one - totally unsafe! No windows or doors but the kids had a blast. Our maid that cleans and babysits for us is from Sri Lanka and her husband, who is still there, drives a yellow tuk-tuk. There were many different colors and the kids had fun pointing them all out.

On our shopping excursion, we went to this store called House of Fashion. And let me tell you, I have done my fair share of shopping in my short 30 years and have never been in a store as crowded as this. It was worth it, though. I got a skirt, blouse and pants for me and got the boys each a shirt for about $15 US. They were all either Gap or Old Navy.

We arrived home safe and sound, even after our tuk-tuk rides. One thing that we took home from this adventure is how nice the Sri Lankan people are. They all loved the kids and ended EVERYTHING they said with a smile. Bret said many times, "everyone loves me here."

Three Wisemen

Merry Chirstmas! So here are the much anticipated pictures of our three wisemen on the camel:

We could only get three heads to cooperate...that darn camel just wouldn't turn his head. That's okay though, because he's just following that star so he knows where to go :-)

This is another picture we used for our Christmas cards.

We're hoping that next year we can get the boys each on their own camel with one holding some gold, one holding some frankincense and one holding some myrrh. I know I'm getting a little carried away over here, but c'mon that would be awesome, right??? Anyway, we miss everyone and hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Drew's first haircut

With Grandma Sally here, we decided she'd better give our scraggly little Drew a little trim.

Before

After

His face is all red because we had to bribe him with Red Vines, that thankfully we can find here.

Visitors!

Don't worry, Nick made it back safe and sound from Saudi Arabia, without even a lash. We've just been busy because we had our first visitors. Nick's parents came halfway around the world from Utah. They were here for ten days and we did lots with them, after they got over the 11 hour time difference. The kids were happy to have Grandma and Grandpa around, especially because they brought with them many Christmas presents. We did lots of eating, shopping, exploring and even went on a desert safari, which, for all those of you out there who are planning to visit us (I know there are tons!), this is a must do. A guy named Sunil (who was an awesome driver) came to our house and picked us all up. We drove about half an hour into the desert. We drove up, over and down all the sand dunes. They call it a roller coster through the sand and it really was. It was amazing the car didn't roll. It felt like it was going to about 20 times. After the safari, they took us to a little camp where they had camel rides (yes, I finally got my 3 wisemen on a camel picture! We'll post it on Christmas day - be waiting), sand boarding, henna tattoos, pictures in traditional dress, an Arabic barbeque and to top it all off, a belly dancer. Then, we got back in the car and Sunil (who, fyi, happened to double as the bartender at the dinner) took us home. Here are some pictures:

Our drive in the desert.

The car in front of us got stuck. You could tell this has happend before - they towed it out in about 30 seconds.

Bret and Cole playing in the sand.

Drew in the sand.

The camp

Bret sandboarding.

Cole getting a henna tattoo - don't worry Mom, they're not permanent.

And finally, Nick and I in the traditional Emirati dress. I'm wearing an abaya (the dress) and a hijab (the head scarf). Nick is wearing a dishdasha (the robe) and we can't remember the name of the head piece, it's something very "throaty."

My upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia

For an American, travel to Saudi Arabia requires a visa. Part of the visa process includes signing a code of conduct. Below is a copy of the statement:

I hereby certify that, during my stay in Saudi Arabia, I shall abide by all the laws and regulations of the Kingdom and I shall respect the morals, customs, values and feelings of Saudi society. I also should not smuggle in any prohibited items. I am aware that alcohol, drugs, narcotics, pornographic materials and all types of religious, political or cultural leaflets, pamphlets, magazines, books, audio tapes, video tapes, films, or other references of all sorts, contradictory to Islam are prohibited from entering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whether for personal use or otherwise. I should not participate in or call for gatherings, whether for sectarian, religious or political purposes. Any types of illegal drugs and narcotics smuggling in and distribution inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is punishable by DEATH.I agree that if I am convicted because of violation of the laws and regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I shall be subject to penalty.

I guess I'll have to take my other suitcase this trip.

Thanksgiving in RAK

Last weekend, we went to Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) to celebrate Thanksgiving. RAK is another one of the seven emirates in the UAE, about an hour away from Dubai. No one really celebrates Thanksgiving here and Nick didn't even get the day off, although he used a vacation day so we could go on our weekend getaway. The kids did get the day off of school, but only because they go to an American school. We pretty much just sat on the beach and ate. It was relaxing, especially with no turkey to cook. We were hoping that the Hilton would have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but no such luck. Here are some pictures:

Cole holding a starfish that he found under a rock - just like Patrick!

Cole on the waterslide. Naturally, both boys prefered the waterslide over the beach.

Bret and Cole in the Persian, or Arabian (as they call it here), Gulf.

Bret trying to catch crabs on the rocks.

Drew didn't like the beach that much. It's not a good place for thumb suckers who crawl. He would suck his thumb, crawl around in the sand with a wet thumb and then try to suck his thumb again. You get the idea.

Drew finally taking a rest - pooped from spitting out all that sand.

Big boys in the pool.

One highlight of the weekend was when Cole locked himself in the bathroom. The door knob was broken so we had to call maintenance to come fix it. Two Indian men showed up and worked a couple minutes to try and open the door. I don't think they realized that someone was in the bathroom (Cole was surprisingly calm through the ordeal) because when I asked Cole if he was OK both guys turned to me, with a little panic in their eyes and said in unison "No problem, Ma'am." It was so funny because that is their (all Indian workers) response to EVERYTHING, and they said it in perfect unison. Maybe you had to be there, but it was funny. Anyway, after about five minutes, they knocked down the door and Cole was free.

Overall it was a nice weekend - didn't feel like Thanksgiving though.

"Winter" Ball

The Dubai Little League season begins in November and ends in March. This is the first year that both Bret and Cole will be playing. Bret is in his first year of pitching machine while Cole is in his first year of T-ball. In true Wiseman style, Nick volunteered to coach and will be coaching Bret's team.

At this age the draft does not include try outs so the coaches have access to family name only when choosing players. Since we are new to the league he had no idea which kids to avoid (read: which parents to avoid). Because of that, Nick decided to employ a similar strategy to the one that was so successful in Sugar Land: choose based on ethnic origin of name. In Sugar Land, he drafted as many Hispanic kids as possible surmising that their parents would be more committed to baseball than their neighbors. Here in Dubai, he drafted as many Asians as possible. The end result is 3 Japanese boys, 1 Korean boy, a British boy, a British girl, 2 Arabs, and 4 Americans. So far so good, no soccer players on the team!

The complex is made up of four main fields and 2 small tee ball fields. The fields are very nice and have a great view of the Burj Dubai (a.k.a. the world's tallest building).

Texas or Dubai

Here is a conversation I had with Bret yesterday after looking at some pictures of Texas.

Me: What do you like better, Texas or Dubai?
Bret: Texas.
Me: Why?
Bret: Because Texas isn't as hot as Dubai.

Who would have ever thought that we could live somewhere that would make Houston seem cool.

Fall in Dubai

According to the calendar, it's Fall. To us, it feels like a never ending summer. Although, this last weekend, we got a taste of some "wintry" weather (according to a local radio announcer). The skies were cloudy and there was a trace of rain. This was the first time we had something other than sun and blue skies. We were all excited. And, the temperature stayed just below 90 degrees, which was quite lovely. We know nobody really cares, but we just had to include our cloud and rain pictures.

So, along with Fall, comes the typical Halloween stuff. The kids carved (very expensive and hard to find) pumpkins. They dressed up for the school parade and trick or treating, which, they did do here in our neighborhood. Someone was thoughtful enough to pass out papers with info on trick or treating, which we have learned, is mostly an American and British thing. If people were going to participate in trick or treating, they would leave their porch light on and hang this piece of paper on their door. Surprisingly, we had a lot of traffic, maybe a little less than what we had in Sugar Land. Our three bags of candy lasted about an hour and a half. Our Pakistani neighbor across the street, was outside walking around passing out chocolate bars to the kids. She came over and asked more about Halloween and if kids in the US ask for money. I told her to just give them candy and that they shouldn't ask for money, unless this is a British thing I don't know about.

Bret dressed up as the Emperor from Star Wars and Cole was a skeleton. And poor little Drew, we looked hard to find any baby costumes here, with no luck. Costumes are hard enough to find, especially baby costumes. We have plenty of boy costumes from about age 3 and up, but our baby costumes we put into storage because they were all for cold weather. Nick had a great idea of dressing him up like a future Dubai American Academy student, tie and all. We had all of the supplies on hand and since I was at the school for most of the day helping with Halloween parties, everyone there would know what he was. It was a hit. Lots of people were taking pictures of the future student.

A couple of days after Halloween, the school held it's annual Fall costume carnival. The crowds were out of control, but the kids had fun doing the games and big bouncy slides. At one point, I waited in line for 45 minutes for some cotton candy. Once I finally got it, I had to search through the masses to find Nick and the kids. By the time I found them, the cotton candy was a sticky, drippy, melty mess because (surprise!) it was hot. The kids enjoyed it anyways.

Mischievous Little Drew

My little Drewster (as I call him) has some favorite pastimes these days, some of which are a little bit mischievous. Here they are:

1. Clearing all of the books off of the shelves. This is a fun game. He does this many times a day, only because I am crazy enough to put the books back on.

2. Climbing the stairs. This is the first time I have had a climber in a house with stairs. Not very fun (for me). I've tried to find a gate, but I haven't found one that will work. At the bottom of the stairs we have a round metal pole on one side and our lovely concrete wall (all of the houses here are solid concrete) on the other. Drilling into the wall to install one of those swinging gates is kind of out of the question. We've tried our putting our kitchen chairs in the way, but he just shoves them aside. Any ideas out there? Let me know.

3. This is Drew's favorite. When Cole is at school, he steals his sacred blanket (or what is left of it) and grabs one of it's "tentacles" to hold while he sucks his thumb. Drew has to have something in his hand while he sucks his thumb. He's not too picky though. I've seen him use toilet paper, paper towels and plastic shopping bags (I know, suffocation hazard), just to name a few.

Even with all of this naughtiness, we still love him tons.

Eid Mubarak

Eid is the celebratory period immediately following Ramadan. The kids got 11 days off school and Nick got a nice 4 day weekend. The holiday is comparable to Thanksgiving in that people generally spend a lot of time with their families and even more time at the malls shopping. Many of the expats use the weekend to explore the coastal resorts or Oman but we were too late in the game to get a reservation anywhere decent so we ended up exploring Al Ain - a small town about 90 minutes from Dubai. Al Ain is a relatively modern town with plenty of western influence but it is more Arab than Dubai. It was much more like the Middle East that we envisioned when we first considered moving over here. There are even a few restaurants in town that serve only Emiratis.

We started off by visiting the Palace Museum...basically an old Arab ranch that has been kept relatively intact. The grounds were really pretty and there was a nice display of paintings of all of the local rulers...or as I call them "Rosy's boyfriends."

The boys had a great time exploring all of the different rooms and trying out the couches on the floor. They were also particularly fond of the gun and sword displays.

Many of the rooms had bars in the windows so the boys had fun pretending to be in jail.

After the museum we drove to the top Jebel Hafeet, at 4,300 ft. it is of one of the UAE's tallest peaks. There were a lot of people at the top and we were lucky enough to park next to a bus full of locals who were proudly dancing to some really bad music. It was quite entertaining. Although it was nothing like the mountains back home it was nice to be at elevation again.