Middle Eastern Easter

So, it's been a while and I'd like to blame that on the fact that for about 2 weeks we were unable to access our blog or anyone else's blog for that matter. I still don't know why, but no one could access blogger here for those 2 weeks. I thought maybe that the powers that be here were upset with my last post and decided to block blogspot, but who knows.

Anyway, our Easter was much different than usual and low key here as most Christian holidays are in the Middle East. The kids woke up and found their few eggs that Nick, I mean the Easter Bunny, brought back from his last trip to the US. There were no plastic eggs to be found anywhere around here. They each had about 12 to find. That was all the bunny could fit in his carry-on. After that we bid farewell to Nick as he headed off to work, for after all, Sunday is the beginning of the work week. I suppose we could've held our celebrations on Friday, when we go to church, but with early church and baseball games to follow, it just didn't work out. Plus, the kids had already been counting down to the real Easter day and how could I explain that the bunny came early?

So, after Nick went to work, the kids and I loaded up in the car in search of our Easter ham. In case you didn't know, pork products of any kind are forbidden to Muslims. Pigs are unclean to them. Only a handful of stores carry pork products and only in special sections, usually hidden away in the back corner of the store. The store I went to refers to that section as "Pork section - for non-muslims only." We call it "the dirty porky section." The kids and I go back to the forbidden corner and purchase our ham, for a definite premium. Pork products are very expensive. It is always interesting to see what other dirty items there are. Pop Tarts, many varieties of Campell's soup and marshmallows were some of the things we saw that somehow contain pork. Who knew that Pop Tarts have pig in them - so appetizing, I know. The kids don't care though. They ate them up. It is always an adventure at the grocery stores here.

The kids went swimming in the afternoon and we had our ham for dinner when Nick got home from work. Here are a few pictures:

Bret, Drew and Cole

The boys with their loot.

Drew with his sacred blanky that goes everywhere with him.

Cole on the new "Shamu" toy from the Easter bunny.

Driving in Dubai

After spending a mere 31/2 hours in the car today shuttling kids between school and playdates, I just have to get this off my mind. Driving here really sucks! I was literally in a traffic JAM today at one roundabout with buses, cars and trucks going every which direction. If there is one thing I'm going to leave with after living here it is being a much more impatient and aggressive driver. I was thinking today, on one of my many drives, that I have NEVER seen a police officer stop anyone for anything. The only time you ever see the cops is when they are responding to an accident. Drivers just do whatever they want, which is nice on one hand because I can go as fast as I want (and I do sometimes). But on the other hand, everyone else does whatever they want, like making their own lanes through the desert just to cut me off at the last second. You always have to check that rear view mirror to see who is going to be speeding up behind you, flashing their brights. Oh, and one more thing, the second the light turns green, if everyone isn't moving, you get cars 10 or 20 back honking. It's so annoying. I found this on my friend's blog today and I'm including it because it is appropriate after my day:

What is the worst traffic violation possible in the most progressive Middle Eastern city? Speeding excessively? Apparently not, and that’s a birthright anyway. Are you ready for the top violation possible under the new traffic system in Dubai? Drum roll… Driving without license plates on your vehicle. It turns out that running a person down, or causing a fatal accident is exactly half as bad as a operating an unlicensed car. Previous to this week, Dubai had a more lax legal code for vehicular offenders; now they have changed to laws that include a point system. 24 points in 12 months time will result in a three month driving suspension, that is unless you opt for driving school. But a lot of people might be perplexed when reading the new rules. The newspaper also listed a few of the changes. Some represent in writing what one observes after a couple days on the road here in the UAE. For example, there is no risk of losing one’s driving privilege for traveling 50 kilometers over the posted limit. Meaning that although the posted limit is 120 on the fastest section of the highway you don’t risk getting any points until you exceed 170. A fine can still be issued below 170 but likely wouldn’t from what we see/hear. Exiting from the left door of a taxi = 3 points; driving against traffic = 4 points; failure to stop after causing an accident = 6; reversing dangerously = 0; “Causing death of others” is 12 points. And the aforementioned sans license plate is 24 points. I once saw a man in a Ferrari stop just short of driving down a gaggle of Indian workers, he looked like would have cared less if he had. Because points last for a 12 month period, drivers are now only able to run two people down in a thirteen month time frame. Someone we met in Dubai recently said that after a bumper car session their five-year old son exclaimed gleefully, “I was driving like an Emirati Mom!” Kids say the darndest things.

Note: blood money might be required in addition to black points if the person run down wasn't at fault. And there are speed cameras that go off at about 140-150kms/hr but some people don't seem to care, probably because they have connections.

Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole's 5th birthday was a few days ago. Wow, those five years have gone fast! Nick and I took him to lunch at the Mall of the Emirates, which is right next to the kids' school. We went to Johnny Rockets and then to Magic Planet, the indoor amusement park. We spent a couple of hours there until it was time to pick up Bret. We finished the day off with cake and presents. Here are a few pictures:

Cole celebrating his birthday at school. He's in the middle of the circle wearing the birthday crown. Tazim, a boy in his class, and Cole have the same birthday.

Lunch at Johnny Rockets.

Cole driving a bumper car. That's a blurry Nick in the background.

Cole on another ride all by himself. We were literally the only people there at 1 pm on a weekday. It was quite nice - no lines.

On a side note, the day after his birthday, Cole went to Ski Dubai (the crazy indoor ski slope at the Mall of the Emirates) for a field trip. The kids had fun sledding, tubing and having snowball fights. Cole has never spent much time in the snow so it was fun to watch.

I'm trying to get a couple videos added, but it's not working right now. When my IT guy (Nick) gets back from the US (and yes, I am jealous - he called me from Target yesterday and I told him to kiss the ground) we'll figure it out.