Advertisement
Published: September 17th 2010
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 mall is only about 2 minutes away I can walk with no problem. We started telling each other our stories. We have a great breakfast then we decide to explore outside. The kids go to the little playground, which is surrounded by Huge Palm trees. I notice in the palm trees are round things which I think are olives, someone has picked them, netted them
and tied them in the trees, The kids and I start exploring all the palm trees. I’m thinking olives don’t come from palm trees as far as I know. I finally see a huge palm with bunches of fruit way up high to high for anyone to reach I look on the ground around the palm and there are plenty of dates. Oh!!!!! They are date palm trees, Yum. We try to find dates on the ground that the bugs haven’t found first. We taste one…delicious! I spend an hour watching the kids swim. Then we get back to the apartment which I find spotless and housekeeping just finishing up the floor! I am back to loving UAE!
But Abdullah will not be allowed to go to the school that my husband works in because he is not an Emirate. And given the academic level in which these students are at we don’t feel comfortable putting them in any public school and the private schools are so expensive, So we are exploring home schooling as an option. I met a woman from London via Sierra Leone today and she is planning on home schooling her children, but she was
a teacher in London. She said quite a few parents have decided to do so they are trying to come up with play groups and such. So we will see (sigh) I don’t want to waste time and money by putting them in a school where they are way too advanced, but they do need the socialization and the Arabic. I am going to talk to more parents tomorrow and try networking more.
Later that evening….
We go to the mall. It’s horrible! The produce is not fresh at all, we pass on that. Everything looks old. It’s not clean or organized. Upstairs they have clothes and shoes and stuff. Substandard quality. I am very disappointed. I am going to ask the Ethiopian girl where the locals shop and I pray it is not too far.
I thought Emirates would be like Morocco in the sense that in Every single neighborhood or Apartment complex there are people selling fresh vegetables, a meat store, a patisserie, an oven that sells fresh bread.
Day 2
We get up and go to breakfast. Dora (woman from London) is there with here 2 children and I meet another woman there, Rochelle and she
Old Mosque
this is right next to the restauranthas 3 children. So we all have breakfast and chat a bit. Seems everyone is homeschooling that has come to this resort. We start talking about the other teachers who ended up at a hotel. I tell them that from what my husband says we got the better deal because when he talked to the teachers who are at the hotel they stated that they don’t like it because they do not access to cooking and they are not allowed to bring any food in, and it’s very expensive. (2 points shakiraaah!) Al Humdullilah (all praise is due to God)…You may not like a thing but through it Allah brings about good for you….This is so true. I did not like this resort at first and wanted to go to a hotel. But this place is actually great. It’s an apartment, I couldn’t imagine being in a hotel for a month and having no access to cooking, and it’s small. Here we have a swimming pool with a section just for kids. The little mosque is right next door, Abdullah can walk there himself! There is an exercise room, restaurant, and its fine for us. My husband job is only
where we live
our place is first bldg. on right 10 minutes away. So Allah has definitely given us the best.
We (girls at breakfast decide to venture out and take a taxi to the bigger mall) This mall is much better! And it has a Carrefour which is like a stop & shop. I had asked the Ethiopian lady where the locals buy their food thinking that it was similar to Morocco…with the fresh fruits vegetable and bread available daily. She said nope, they shop at the stores, but she knows what I am talking about. She said that is one of the great unique things about Africa! So that’s disappointing. Most things here are imported…Duh me we re in the dessert! Lol. I miss the donkeys and horses of Morocco riding in the morning with the drivers yelling out what they have for sale, fresh onions! Melons! Nectarines! Plums! Apples! Large fragrant bunches of mint and parsley!) For pennies! (Wow, when I was there I was thinking I wish they would shut the hell up and let me sleep, human beings are so ungrateful!) This is like the US. I did notice though Abu Dhabi quality was better than Al Ain.
My husband came home he told me
that he had a much better day. I told him just do what you would do in the states the first day of school. They need to understand what your expectations are don’t worry about the parents and principal just do what you know to do. He took my advice and said it worked wonderfully. Al humdullilah. He is feeling good, loving his school. He just needs supplies. It seems to be coming together. We are still unsure about our kids schooling, we need to get a car, we need to get paid, we need to still get our housing, we need to buy furniture, we still need to get out visas in order, we have a lot of work to do, but I think we are on the right track!
My random facts about about Al Ain—
There are no street address’ directions are by landmarks- For instance our hotel is near the Sand castle roundabout and Safeer Mall in Masoudi
There are many beautifully decorated roundabouts around Al Ain
It is easier to buy a gun in the US than to buy a phone card in Emirates.
About Al Ain By: Shuchita Bist GOWEALTHY.COM ©
2006
Al Ain, meaning ‘spring’, stands true to its due to vast reservoir of underground water. It is situated in the region of Al-Buraimi oasis that comes in the territory of Oman. It is the second major city in the emirate and is only 160 km away from Abu Dhabi. Al Ain is al the birthplace of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first President of the UAE.
Until September 16 2006, Al Ain and Buraimi Oasis enjoyed open border and functioned as one. The UAE government decided to close the border and now all the individuals are required to clear immigration formalities before entering or leaving the UAE.
The archaeological excavations at Al Ain suggest that the history of city is almost 3000 years old. Founded at the foot of the Jebel Hafit Mountain, the highest mountain peak in the UAE, the city has transformed into the cultural hub of the emirate. The city is home to the University of Emirates, largest museum in the whole country and the oldest irrigation channel in the world.Also called the ‘Garden City’, it is famous for greenery, parks and fountains.
The city has acclaimed international recognition for
its continuous positive efforts towards environmental endeavors. It was the proud recipient of the ‘Nation in Bloom Award 1998’ given in honor of the annual Al Ain Flower Show. The year 2003 is remarkable for the city because it signed a protocol with the UNESCO to preserve and enhance its cultural richness and one day may enter the list of prized World Heritage Site.
Al Ain is one of the greenest cities in the whole of Arabia. Developed under the planning and vision of Sheikh Zayed, the city is jeweled with several aesthetically designed roundabouts, boulevards and low-rise buildings. Each roundabout in Al Ain is special offering unique display of sculpture, landscape and water flow. The tree-lined avenues are not only shelter from the bright sun but also provide beauty to the city. Al Ain is dotted with almost 65 manicured gardens each having a unique style. It has now become famous as a holiday resort for the people of the UAE as well as the tourists.
Al Ain has an international airport to provide instant connectivity with the outside world. The best times to visit Al Ain is during the winters when one can explore the ancient
archaeological sites, enjoy all the uniquely designed roundabouts, relish the picturesque gardens and visit the hot springs in Jebel Hafiz.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.17s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 7; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0348s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Susan l santos
non-member comment
My Niece
Hello my niece. I'm glad you are getting settled. The place does look beautiful but alas, I am an American girl. Are you sure you didnt eat little bugs from those date? be careful. Hope the little ones are well.