Blogs from Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, Middle East - page 2

Special note about Asiyah So Najd promised Asiyah a bicycle if she promised not to suck her finger for a month. And this determined little girl did it. After years of putting socks on her hand, buying nasty tasting finger elixirs, threats, bribery, she did it! He said bike and that was it. She had two difficult nights, she couldn’t sleep and she was crying. We put a sock on her hand and bought her a pacifier for night and she did it! No more sock, it’s been two weeks! Update: only 7 more days to go! First days of school Well first days of school Abdullah came home with stories of at least 3 different children pushing and hitting him. I asked him did he tell the teacher and he said he did and the ... read more

I dont have much to say...I will let the pictures do the talking....oooOOoo I forgot to mention the Sand Cat, I have never heard of it before and I didnt get a picture of it because it was in the nocturnal house and it was really in the dark, but google it it is the coolest thing. I want one :) lol. also I read today that an Austrian businessman had a private animal collection that grew out of control and he approached the then ruling Sheikh, Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, to donate a piece of land for housing the animals. That was the initial zoo and over the years it has expanded, and is currently exppanding more. The collection includes more than four thousand animals from exotic reptiles, birds, and mammals from all over ... read more

One thing I love about living here is that you see Quran manifested every day. It’s like the Quran has come alive. For example when Allah talks about the blessings of date palm trees to the Ummah. You see it here. When Allah forbids music, you really understand why when you see how music has consumed the Arab culture. When 70% of the channels are music and you see the culture changing and Arabs emulating MTV videos, you understand. All the time ayahs of Quran pop into my mind and find new life and understanding. The only way I can explain it is to say the Quran was like black & white to me and living here is adding color to it. My husband says he is having the same experience, and we often mention the ... read more

This blog is mostly pictures. The pictures are detailed to give my mom an Idea of what the lay out of the apartment looks like so she can give me some interior decorating ideas. Pictures of Al Ain Mall,and Our apartment, roundabouts and forts. Im over being sad about my new apartment and Im making the best of it. I am looking forward to moving out of the resort. I am getting to know my way around. I love that there is so much to do here for families. and it is all Halaal! We havent really gone anywhere because we are preparing to move. Trying to buy furniture and stuff. ... read more

DAY 1 Started out this morning with a new positive attitude my disappointment about leaving Aloft hotel gone! I take of my sulking cap and put on my action cap. I go and ask the concierge if there is a market close by. He says yes there is a mall with a market up the street, and across the street. I can walk. Ok that sounds good. But I still am not sure about the walking part his English wasn’t that great and he’s a man so he might not understand what “walking distance” means to an American…in 100 degrees….with 2 children and coming back with groceries, so I am a little leery. We go to the breakfast buffet. I start conversating with an Ethiopian woman who works in the restaurant. She tells me that the ... read more