I love the realization of absolute freedom that comes from a tank full of gas, an ipod, and an entire city to explore on a sunny Friday morning....
My ever-inquisitive 6th graders like to ask me questions about myself, perhaps in an effort to steer the subject away from math, so yesterday I let them ask me questions for the last 5 minutes of class.
There were some of the usual - what's your favorite color? What's your favorite food? Do you have any sisters or brothers? How old are you? Where did you go to college?
And then there were ones that went like this:
Student: " are you married?"
Me: "no"
S: "Why not?"
M: "I haven't found anyone I want to marry"
S: "why?"
M: "i just haven't"
another studnet: "i went to africa and there are lots of orphans there. why don't you adopt one?"
M: (pause) "I'm not......at a place in my life where I want kids (?)"
It was great. They crack me up on a regular basis!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
I can’t quite believe I’ve been here 5 weeks already… I’ve got a car (!!!!) and am coping with the traffic quite well, enjoying driving once again… but it beeps when I hit 120 km/h so I can’t “accidentally” drive too fast… my car is a 2006 Toyota Corolla, white, with a cute little spoiler and I love it already!
This weekend I went on a few interesting drives… I went driving about behind Dubai, our towards the desert, and saw some interesting stuff – the F1 track; the future home of Dubailand which right now has a rocketship, a huge façade with a fake rollercoaster and not much else; Arabian Ranches – a huge development of two-stories stretching back into the desert, half of them finished and half still concrete shells; the city skyline disappearing in the humidity-induced haze; sand and scrubby brush and trees; and camel farms, dotted with little huts for the camel-tenders… then, heading farther to the desert, a huge “gate” on either side of the road, and then occasional large pictures of future developments – huge hotel complexes with themes that will span a huge area… but right now is only desert – not even a crane in sight!
Saturday morning we headed to the neighboring Emirate of Sharjah to hit up the “blue souq” – so called by people because the roof is blue. We got a little lost, because although “all roads lead to Sharjah,” once they get there they loop and snarl and detour…. So we got the scenic tour. There’s a beautiful “corniche,” a big bay with sand and walking paths and views of a beautiful mosque… the souq is two long buildings filled with shops – carpets, jewelry, trinkets, fabric in a million forms – we went to a carpet guy that knows some of the other teachers. 12 or so of us were there at once and we filled up the shop looking at these fabulous rugs – handmade, from Pakistan and Iran and all over the world… some of them 30-60 years old – intricate patterns, rich colors…
I took a break to buy some pashminas (shawls) and look at fabrics, and when I came back there had been a lot of rugs purchased! I need to paint my apartment before I buy a rug, but is was great to see the (long) process of looking and feeling and haggling and comparing… and the owner really knew his stuff. He goes himself to buy these rugs from the people who make them in various countries……
Our next stop was in another Emirate, and with one more wrong turn we ended up driving through another 3 emirates, instead of the planned 2 , so I can now say I’ve been in 5 of the 7 Emirates! We saw red-orange sand dotted with trees, somehow surviving in the heat and sun, camels clumped together in a humpy lump or standing solitary in the sparse shade, and lots of sand blowing across the road. Interesting fact: camels are valuable. Hit one with your car and pay somewhere in the neighborhood of 300,000 Dirhams (85,000 dollars, give or take a few) which is more than you’d have to pay for hitting a human being…
We saw kilometers of open beach with sparking water – surprisingly undeveloped, though I’m sure it will be eventually – but the stench of stagnant water made the sight less beautiful… (our destination was an outlet for more-affordable beverages of an alcoholic persuasion, which was packed with ex-pats stocking up before Ramadan...)
Speak of, Ramadan starts in about a week, and I’m interested to see what life is like during that time… quiet fasting during the day, with shortened work hours, and then Iftar celebrations after sunset, with feasting in tents on the beach…
I finally have some pictures, but they don't want to load... so they'll have to wait!
This weekend I went on a few interesting drives… I went driving about behind Dubai, our towards the desert, and saw some interesting stuff – the F1 track; the future home of Dubailand which right now has a rocketship, a huge façade with a fake rollercoaster and not much else; Arabian Ranches – a huge development of two-stories stretching back into the desert, half of them finished and half still concrete shells; the city skyline disappearing in the humidity-induced haze; sand and scrubby brush and trees; and camel farms, dotted with little huts for the camel-tenders… then, heading farther to the desert, a huge “gate” on either side of the road, and then occasional large pictures of future developments – huge hotel complexes with themes that will span a huge area… but right now is only desert – not even a crane in sight!
Saturday morning we headed to the neighboring Emirate of Sharjah to hit up the “blue souq” – so called by people because the roof is blue. We got a little lost, because although “all roads lead to Sharjah,” once they get there they loop and snarl and detour…. So we got the scenic tour. There’s a beautiful “corniche,” a big bay with sand and walking paths and views of a beautiful mosque… the souq is two long buildings filled with shops – carpets, jewelry, trinkets, fabric in a million forms – we went to a carpet guy that knows some of the other teachers. 12 or so of us were there at once and we filled up the shop looking at these fabulous rugs – handmade, from Pakistan and Iran and all over the world… some of them 30-60 years old – intricate patterns, rich colors…
I took a break to buy some pashminas (shawls) and look at fabrics, and when I came back there had been a lot of rugs purchased! I need to paint my apartment before I buy a rug, but is was great to see the (long) process of looking and feeling and haggling and comparing… and the owner really knew his stuff. He goes himself to buy these rugs from the people who make them in various countries……
Our next stop was in another Emirate, and with one more wrong turn we ended up driving through another 3 emirates, instead of the planned 2 , so I can now say I’ve been in 5 of the 7 Emirates! We saw red-orange sand dotted with trees, somehow surviving in the heat and sun, camels clumped together in a humpy lump or standing solitary in the sparse shade, and lots of sand blowing across the road. Interesting fact: camels are valuable. Hit one with your car and pay somewhere in the neighborhood of 300,000 Dirhams (85,000 dollars, give or take a few) which is more than you’d have to pay for hitting a human being…
We saw kilometers of open beach with sparking water – surprisingly undeveloped, though I’m sure it will be eventually – but the stench of stagnant water made the sight less beautiful… (our destination was an outlet for more-affordable beverages of an alcoholic persuasion, which was packed with ex-pats stocking up before Ramadan...)
Speak of, Ramadan starts in about a week, and I’m interested to see what life is like during that time… quiet fasting during the day, with shortened work hours, and then Iftar celebrations after sunset, with feasting in tents on the beach…
I finally have some pictures, but they don't want to load... so they'll have to wait!
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