This week we celebrated our one year anniversary in Dubai - our Dubaiaversary! One year ago, we boarded a plane, then another, then yet another - -and flew almost halfway across the world to our new home in Dubai. It's been a fascinating experience and one that we will always treasure and remember our entire lives! We left home where it was in the 50s/60s F and arrived to a hot, humid, 90+ degree (did I mention sticky) Dubai! It was the beginning of the warming season here...what a treat! But seriously, there's little to worry about here with the heat as
everything is air-conditioned and you are never far from a swimming pool. Our first place of residence here was an apartment complex called The Greens and we stayed in Al Dhafrah 1. Just trying to communicate Dhafrah with our southern-American accents was tough enough, much less trying to explain to people where we lived! After being here a week or so, Dwayne got back on his regular travel schedule and Lisa and the girls were here to find a more permanent home. After many many hot steamy days of driving around to what seemed like hundreds of villas, we settled on a neighborhood called the Arabian Ranches. It is a brand new neighborhood out in the middle of the desert...
on the edge of where they are building Dubailand. That's right - - in the middle of the desert. Oh wait - - everyone here is in the desert! It just doesn't always look like it! Our boxes arrived from the United States just in time for our move to our villa and everything arrived in perfect condition (so why didn't we pack our dishes?!?). The only box marked "FRAGILE" is the one that fell off the truck on the way to our villa. Imagine an overgrown pick-up truck piled illegally high with boxes and probably underinflated tires - - yeah...that's how our boxes got to
our house. Bless those drivers. After unpacking and getting settled in for a couple of weeks, we decided it was high time for some R&R. We decided to take
our first vacation and we headed to London and Paris. London was a fantastic time and we probably did as many tourist attractions as humanly possible during our time there - Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Zoo, London Aquarium, park visits, double decker buses, red telephone booths - - you name it...we were there and took the picture. After London, we headed on over to Paris and also took i
n Disneyland Paris for a few days. Dwayne's mom joined us there and was able to enjoy some time with Kaleigh and Ashlyn. Her trip was short but the time spent with us was eternally memorable
. About 2 1/2 weeks after leaving Dubai, we headed back as it would be time for school to start soon. The girls started the Dubai American Academy on September 3, 2007. Ashlyn was accepted into their PKG (pre-K) program and Kaleigh started in their KG2 (second year - Kindergarten). Kindergarten starts at age 4 here, at least in the American Inte
rnational program. We have simply fallen in love with this school and all it offers the families and students, as well as the community. You simply won't find a more loving, nurturing environment than DAA where they actually have what they call a Culture of Kindness. It shows everyday. Lisa has gotten very involved with the school and has served on various committees and is also one of Ashlyn's homeroom parents. Since we are in a Muslim nation, DAA recognizes the mandated Islamic holidays. Ramadan is of course celebrated here and for basically the entire month of September, everyone (regardless of your faith) must adhere to the strict eating/drinking rules. Basically, you are not allowed to eat/drink in public until sundown. This means all restaurants are CLOSED...a few are open for home delivery only. If you are spotte
d eating, drinking, chewing gum, etc...you are subject to fines or worse. Dubai suddenly gets very religious during Ramadan, where as the rest of the year it is very relaxed. After Ramadan comes Eid...the breaking of the Fast. School was closed for a few days so we took advantage of this window and flew to Cairo. We took in the pyramids, sailed on the Nile, visited a papyrus museum and purchased some fantastic artwork, and took in a river cruise where Kaleigh even got to dance with a bellydancer! It was a quick, fun trip to Cairo and yes - - the traffic there is just like Hollywood portrays it - - maybe even worse! Thanksgiving rolled around next and we had a big party at our house for Dwayne's company (Meridium) and various other friends and neighbors. It was a great time to share this American tradition with people from all over the world - Armenia, Lebanon, Egypt, Canada, UK, South Africa, India...and many other places. Our friends here are so precious to us and we were happy to share this speci
al time with all of them, especially since we couldn't be at home with our beloved families and friends. It was really hard to be away and it was our first big holiday away from home. Before heading home for Christmas, we took a weekend trip to Muscat, Oma
n. Muscat is about a 4-hour drive or a 1-hour flight from Dubai. It is so beautiful and "naturally" middle-eastern. While Dubai is beautiful in a modern, created aesthetic way, Muscat is more like your hometown desert paradise. Just lots of beautiful rocky mountains, gorgeous beaches, and very friendly people. Lisa especially loved Muscat and wants to return again soon! Our Christmas break lasted over three weeks (we took a few extra days) and it was so good to put our feet back on US soil! Don't get us wrong, we definitely like Dubai, but there is no place like your home country! We are proud to be from America and have found that so many people here just love the thought of being an American. So man
y people in Dubai (
non-Westerners) are just fascinated that we are even here!
There aren't many Americans here in the UAE, so we are somewhat of a novelty! During our return trip home, we celebrated Christmas, Kaleigh's birthday, Ashlyn's birthday (ok...a month early), New Year's and even took a short trip down to Miami, FL for the Orange Bowl with our good good friends - Dale
and Sheri. We returned to Dubai and also to massive rains. It was evidently the wettest Dubai winter on record for quite some time. And we are talking massive flooding. Dangerous driving...schools were closed...disaster areas. There just isn't anywhere for all that water to go, people. It rained, and rained, and rained. And rained. Our neighborhood is at a high point in the desert, so no flooding took place for us, luckily. But, as soon as we left the Ranches, it was dangerous driving
on the roads. We were very thankful for the rain, but too much is never welcomed. Once the weather warmed up a bit, we took a weekend jaunt over to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. It was a nice reprieve from Dubai's crazy traffic and construction. We strolled around Abu Dhabi's lovely parks and took in the Heritage museum where we saw some very cool Middle Eastern dances. Well, Spring break at school rolled around and off we went to Phuket, Thailand! You can read our blog about
that adventure. It was fantastic and a truly gorgeous place. It was full of decadent green foliage - - a real treat for our desert eyes. So that's our past year in a rather small nutshell - it doesn't mention all of the wonderful friends we've made along the way...Lisa especially sends extra love out to Ansu, Molly, Cabbie, Sian, Helen, Tracy, Katie, Pauline, and Shirley. All of you wonderful women have been such caring spirits and selfless friends to her! We also - OF COURSE - want to thank all of our family members and friends back in the States who send us emails, videos, and their love while we are here in Dubai. Keeping in touch with us means the world - -thank you!!!!
everything is air-conditioned and you are never far from a swimming pool. Our first place of residence here was an apartment complex called The Greens and we stayed in Al Dhafrah 1. Just trying to communicate Dhafrah with our southern-American accents was tough enough, much less trying to explain to people where we lived! After being here a week or so, Dwayne got back on his regular travel schedule and Lisa and the girls were here to find a more permanent home. After many many hot steamy days of driving around to what seemed like hundreds of villas, we settled on a neighborhood called the Arabian Ranches. It is a brand new neighborhood out in the middle of the desert...
on the edge of where they are building Dubailand. That's right - - in the middle of the desert. Oh wait - - everyone here is in the desert! It just doesn't always look like it! Our boxes arrived from the United States just in time for our move to our villa and everything arrived in perfect condition (so why didn't we pack our dishes?!?). The only box marked "FRAGILE" is the one that fell off the truck on the way to our villa. Imagine an overgrown pick-up truck piled illegally high with boxes and probably underinflated tires - - yeah...that's how our boxes got to
our house. Bless those drivers. After unpacking and getting settled in for a couple of weeks, we decided it was high time for some R&R. We decided to take
our first vacation and we headed to London and Paris. London was a fantastic time and we probably did as many tourist attractions as humanly possible during our time there - Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Zoo, London Aquarium, park visits, double decker buses, red telephone booths - - you name it...we were there and took the picture. After London, we headed on over to Paris and also took i
n Disneyland Paris for a few days. Dwayne's mom joined us there and was able to enjoy some time with Kaleigh and Ashlyn. Her trip was short but the time spent with us was eternally memorable
. About 2 1/2 weeks after leaving Dubai, we headed back as it would be time for school to start soon. The girls started the Dubai American Academy on September 3, 2007. Ashlyn was accepted into their PKG (pre-K) program and Kaleigh started in their KG2 (second year - Kindergarten). Kindergarten starts at age 4 here, at least in the American Inte
rnational program. We have simply fallen in love with this school and all it offers the families and students, as well as the community. You simply won't find a more loving, nurturing environment than DAA where they actually have what they call a Culture of Kindness. It shows everyday. Lisa has gotten very involved with the school and has served on various committees and is also one of Ashlyn's homeroom parents. Since we are in a Muslim nation, DAA recognizes the mandated Islamic holidays. Ramadan is of course celebrated here and for basically the entire month of September, everyone (regardless of your faith) must adhere to the strict eating/drinking rules. Basically, you are not allowed to eat/drink in public until sundown. This means all restaurants are CLOSED...a few are open for home delivery only. If you are spotte
d eating, drinking, chewing gum, etc...you are subject to fines or worse. Dubai suddenly gets very religious during Ramadan, where as the rest of the year it is very relaxed. After Ramadan comes Eid...the breaking of the Fast. School was closed for a few days so we took advantage of this window and flew to Cairo. We took in the pyramids, sailed on the Nile, visited a papyrus museum and purchased some fantastic artwork, and took in a river cruise where Kaleigh even got to dance with a bellydancer! It was a quick, fun trip to Cairo and yes - - the traffic there is just like Hollywood portrays it - - maybe even worse! Thanksgiving rolled around next and we had a big party at our house for Dwayne's company (Meridium) and various other friends and neighbors. It was a great time to share this American tradition with people from all over the world - Armenia, Lebanon, Egypt, Canada, UK, South Africa, India...and many other places. Our friends here are so precious to us and we were happy to share this speci
al time with all of them, especially since we couldn't be at home with our beloved families and friends. It was really hard to be away and it was our first big holiday away from home. Before heading home for Christmas, we took a weekend trip to Muscat, Oma
n. Muscat is about a 4-hour drive or a 1-hour flight from Dubai. It is so beautiful and "naturally" middle-eastern. While Dubai is beautiful in a modern, created aesthetic way, Muscat is more like your hometown desert paradise. Just lots of beautiful rocky mountains, gorgeous beaches, and very friendly people. Lisa especially loved Muscat and wants to return again soon! Our Christmas break lasted over three weeks (we took a few extra days) and it was so good to put our feet back on US soil! Don't get us wrong, we definitely like Dubai, but there is no place like your home country! We are proud to be from America and have found that so many people here just love the thought of being an American. So man
y people in Dubai (
non-Westerners) are just fascinated that we are even here!
and Sheri. We returned to Dubai and also to massive rains. It was evidently the wettest Dubai winter on record for quite some time. And we are talking massive flooding. Dangerous driving...schools were closed...disaster areas. There just isn't anywhere for all that water to go, people. It rained, and rained, and rained. And rained. Our neighborhood is at a high point in the desert, so no flooding took place for us, luckily. But, as soon as we left the Ranches, it was dangerous driving 
on the roads. We were very thankful for the rain, but too much is never welcomed. Once the weather warmed up a bit, we took a weekend jaunt over to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. It was a nice reprieve from Dubai's crazy traffic and construction. We strolled around Abu Dhabi's lovely parks and took in the Heritage museum where we saw some very cool Middle Eastern dances. Well, Spring break at school rolled around and off we went to Phuket, Thailand! You can read our blog about 
that adventure. It was fantastic and a truly gorgeous place. It was full of decadent green foliage - - a real treat for our desert eyes. So that's our past year in a rather small nutshell - it doesn't mention all of the wonderful friends we've made along the way...Lisa especially sends extra love out to Ansu, Molly, Cabbie, Sian, Helen, Tracy, Katie, Pauline, and Shirley. All of you wonderful women have been such caring spirits and selfless friends to her! We also - OF COURSE - want to thank all of our family members and friends back in the States who send us emails, videos, and their love while we are here in Dubai. Keeping in touch with us means the world - -thank you!!!!
2 comments:
Times does fly. While we really miss you guys, it does not seem like a whole year has gone by already. What you all have seen and done in just a years time is amazing. Good for you. Keep it up.
Dubai is the place where you will find ultimate fun and every entertainment that you wish for...
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