Shamal Shamazal

When I have heard the word Shamal I always have thought of the opening song to Laverne and Shirly…”Shameel, shamall, something, something incorporated..” Well, now I understand the true meaning.

Shamal is defined as..” a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night.[1] This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times a year. The resulting wind typically creates large sandstorms that impact Iraq, although most sand is picked up from Jordan and Syria.” I suppose they forgot to mention the UAE, we are often combined in with Saudi Arabia.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, hot enough to not feel cold in the pool, a sunny warmth that reminded us all that before long dramatic heat and humidity will drive us to run from one air conditioned area to another. When evening fell the winds picked up quite rapidly, I went outside to feel the warm air blow in front of our villa. When I awoke this morning a thick layer of sand was dispersed through the air. It almost looked like fog or smog but has a warmer hue of brown to it. Well, shamal or no shamal our day continued…

Today was a big day, both a Valentine’s party and Field Day for Jake. Field Day is typically done at the end of the American school year, but here, it has to be done before the heat rises to the extreme!

It is such a joy to see Jake enjoy these activities. I worried so much about taking him from a home and friends that he loved to a new and strange culture in the Middle East. He has transitioned so well and like me seems to enjoy the adventure of it all. The photos below show his happiness throughout our sandy, windy day!!


The street in front of Jake's school, ACS...

Jake's Valentine's party, deliveries in progress...

Happy with lots of treats!

The grass field at ACS, you can barely see the apartment buildings in the background that are normally seem clear as day.

Jake with Charlie Cook to the left. Charlie is my friend Terri's son, he is thrilled as he just got a leg cast off earlier this morning!!

Hoarding..An Expat requirement!

It’s been a couple of weeks from my last post, yes, we have been busy but I can’t tell you with exactly what. I think we have just been busy with everyday life here in Abu Dhabi, our routine is down and we plug along just like we did in the States.

School, gym, visiting with friends, homework, air shows, boy and girls nights out, Birthday parties, etc.

There are some major differences, but I have learned to accept them. For instance, the highlight of my day today was the grocery store. Jake, will only drink Welch’s white grape juice…..that’s it other than water, no other kind of juice will do. Just since we have lived here have they started carrying it in ONE grocery store. It is a mere $30dhs a bottle (about $8.00) very pricey..so I buy it occasionally for Jake. Today I burst out with joy when I came across the Welch’s white grape juice, as it was marked for only 9dhs a bottle!!! So, I did what any expat would do (or so I have learned since I came here) I hoarded! This word has taken on a new meaning since living here, when you find those unique things you have to have (especially at good prices) you literally clear the shelf. This rings true with goldfish, corn meal, frozen waffles and cheerios. Take what you can get, when you find it!! I learned this lesson the hard way when I had to borrow cornmeal from a friend for Thanksgiving!!

So I am now fully stocked with about 10 bottles of Welch’s white grape juice…oh there are also about 10 bags of goldfish in my pantry…..all I can say is thank goodness I have lots of cabinet space!!

Other than these small things daily life is pretty much the same. For instance, I finally got my driver’s license..the women behind the counter, although covered in abayas were just as unfriendly as they are at the DMV in the states. I registered Jett for 4-year old pre-school this week, I had to get up and wait in line just like I did back home.

However, after writing this I think about when we go home to the States this summer, I bet life will seem very easy there, after all this…I guess you just learn to live with what you have and since everybody else does the same, it seems normal...??

With all that said it is still shocking to me how easy our transition has been. There are stresses…VISA’s, housing, etc. but there are different stresses at home that we don’t have here. Overall, I am still thrilled at the opportunity to live here as a family, and if you told me I could leave tomorrow I would say no way..we still have too many continents to visit!!

Mom and Dad Visit Abu Dhabi!!!

Well, after a two week visit in Abu Dhabi, I think, by the time they left, my Mom and Dad memorized a view of the basic rules:

1) Take short showers, hot water only lasts in the summer when it is 115 outside
2) Leaks are a regular thing around here, $8,000 a month rent in Abu Dhabi doesn't get you the swanky..all bathrooms work, no leak house, like it gets you in the states
3) Watch where you step, there are no safety regulations here, so pipes can be sticking out anywhere and holes can be right in the middle of a sidewalk!
4) Watch where you step around camels
5) Remember exacly where you are by landmarks and buildings, as nothing has an address here and cab drivers rarely speak good English
6) Leave time for figuring out Abu Dhabi events, signs are never in English that tell you where to go and what the schedule is and if you ask anyone a question..the answer is ALWAYS YES, even if they have no idea what you are saying!!
7) Locals only work when they want to, sometimes they show and sometimes, they don't!!
8) Always stock up on wine at the Duty Free in the airport, alcohol is hard to come by in Abu Dhabi and very pricey!!
9) Check your camel's saddle before you get on, make sure the girth is tight!!

The Camel Festival..thousands of camels, and a great event, however, since all signs were in arabic we had no idea what was going on!!!

Dune Bashing trip...camels stink!!

Dad riding a camel with a good saddle...Mike got on one and the saddle fell right over..ouch!!

During the Dune Bashing..at a camp in the desert..this is the coldest I have ever been since we have lived here!! This was right before Mom tripped over a pole and fell down, landing on her wine glass..lots of blood but thankfully no stiches were neccesary..the dune bashing made us all a bit dizzy!!

Dad, reliving his college days with the shesha pipe..ha, ha!

Mom and Dad with us on the Ferrari site visit...

Dad...trying to be funny with the workers..they just think he is crazy!!!

Our last day..Atlantis, where thanks to Mike.. we got the VIP treatment!!

Ferrari World Site Visit

Finally I was able to go see Mike at work!! They do not allow children anywhere near his worksite but when my parents visited last week I finally arranged enough time without the kids to go see him!!

Many friends that I have not spoken to in sometime ask me what brought us to Abu Dhabi...well this is it! Sometime ago Mike got into the theme and water park business (the business I was raised in). About a year ago he was approached by a consulting company based out of Tustin, CA that he had gotten to know over the years. This company, ProFun has the pre-opening operations contract for Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. The first ever Ferrari theme park that is being built on an island called Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. There is also a Formula 1 racetrack being built on this island, shopping, housing, hotels, etc. Mike is on this pre-opening operations team, consulting on the contruction of the park from an operations prospective. He will also oversee the water park and potentially the Warner Bros park that will be built on the island as well.

Below is the model of Yas Island. The circle in the middle is a large mall, the red structure is Ferrari World, over to the left is where Warner Bros and the World's largest waterpark will be.

Mike..showing us the overhead photo of the island...This island is located about 20 minutes from the city center of Abu Dhabi.

There are about 40,000 laborers involved in these projects..they all live in these work camps..or trailers. Most are Indian, that have come out here to work, leaving their families behind and sending them their earnings. See the rows of stacked trailers...

Grandstands for Formula 1 racetrack...

In the Ferrari World building...

Still a long way to go, but amazing progress considering one year ago this was all sand and dirt!!

Happy Belated Christmas!!

Sorry for the delay in Christmas photos, we had a very busy December. After returning from South Africa we swung right into Christmas preperations. How can it be Christmas without baking Grandma Louise's famous Christmas cookies? I was so excited to find a cookie press here!! I could not find all the cute decorations for the cookies (no red hots or sprinkles that look like ball ornaments) but we found enough to suffice and made beautiful cookies!! Jake is quite the baker..it is very serious business for him!!

The final result...!! Jake marked who got what cookies...he put some in a container to save for Nana and Baba!!

On Christmas Eve we were invited to our friends, Nicole and Chase's house. I met Nicole (below in the green dress) at Jake's school, ACS. We instantly connected as we realized that Jill (my sister) and her brother both live in Tustin Ranch, CA..literally around the corner from each other. Nicole has two girls the same ages as Jake and Jett, they play really well together. She had three familes over for Christmas Eve dinner and had a special gift hunt set-up for the kids. They followed notes from Santa to get to their special gifts!!

Our traditional Oswald Family Christmas Eve photo in front of the tree on Christmas Eve (in Christmas PJ"S)...

Christmas Morning...I was thrilled to wake up to an Abu Dhabi white Christmas..a thick layer of fog!!

Before the gifts were tackled..

(after)

Santa brought a trampoline..luckily we had just the right space for it!!!

Pre-Christmas..Jett's Pre-School Winter Concert...

So handsome and ready to sing!!!

Man!!... singing can get really tiring...

I hope this works...if you can view it, it is Jett's Christmas morning dance...!!!!

Overall we had a great Christmas!

South Africa III -- Cape Town!

Finally, the third installment.

In getting ready to go to South Africa and on the way there, all we heard is that we HAVE TO go to Cape Town. We did not initially plan it in our schedule. After awhile of hearing this, everywhere we went, we felt we had to go....as who knows when we would make it back to this part of the earth. So, we showed up at the airport and hoped one of the flight's out could accommodate us. I never thought we would be this adventurous (traveling with kids) but, like us they have learned to enjoy the adventure of it all...We found a flight and a hotel with no problem at all, it felt as if it were all meant to be, because it was so easy. We did have to wait at the airport for about three hours for the flight, but as you can see all the boys know how to stay busy. Thank goodness for modern technology. Many people looked, pointed and stared at us with a smile..all the boys happily playing their games, waiting for the flight to our next destination...
We arrived into Cape Town so late so we couldn't see much, but we awoke to a lovely view out of our hotel-apartment balcony...

The boys had to go check it out...

Alas..Cape Town across the bay..the clouds set on table top mountain like they were taking a rest stop to enjoy the scenery.

We first headed to the waterfront, below are statues of Nobel Prize winners...

Waterfront...

I had to take this picture in front of the San Francisco sign...the wind was crazy this day!!

The boys enjoyed looking out of this...

Hey..guess where it came from.....

Lunch from a hotdog stand..one of the many items we miss in Abu Dhabi..pork is not available when eating out. There is ONE store that sells it, you have to go through a special door in the back.

We only had two full days in Cape Town, so we decided to see the highlights on the double decker bus tour.

Headed to the top of table mountain...

At the top..it was just a tad windy!

Playing on the beach..the boys loved to chase the birds...

The wind was so feirce the sand was burning our skin, we still had fun getting carried by the wind...

Trying to knock Mommy down...

The next day..lunch in the city centre...

Local kids earning money by dancing. They moved around often as to not get caught by the police...Notice the little girl with a bandage on her foot...

The waterfront..a swinging bridge that would open for taller vessels..

The Bubbles!!!!!! Remember bubble boy? Well this is a way to turn it into an attraction.

Jake made Jett go first (to make sure it was safe.) Jake often uses Jett as his personal test dummy..Jett is so fearless he would try anything!! Here goes Jett..jumped in the bubble to get blown-up...

Here he goes...

Once Jake sees that his brother was safe, unharmed and breathing..he decided it would be okay to try...

Enjoying more street entertainers...

Getting ready to board the ferry to Robben Island...

"From the 17th to the 20th centuries, Robben Island served as a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment. Rebel princes from present day Indonesia, convicts from the Cape, and defiant chiefs from the Eastern Cape were removed from society and brought to the Island in chains.
The notorious prison on the Island was also used to exile political prisoners of the apartheid era between the 1960s and 1991.
Today it is a World Heritage Site and museum, a poignant reminder to the newly democratic South Africa of the price some paid for freedom. " -Robben Island website

The block where Nelson Mandela was held...

Where we wanted to put Jett when he would not stop talking during the tour...
The boat ride back to the Cape Town..we sat on top and rode the waves...Happy Jake!


Well, it was worth it..we were so glad we fit it in. When we were headed to the airport early the next morning, Jake said "where are we going next?" I said, "HOME!" He said, "No I don't want to go home yet, lets go somewhere else!!"

When we landed in Abu Dhabi Jett jumped up and down and said "Yeah, we are back in Abu Dhabi!" The locals loved it, so did we!! All we could talk about on our way home was..where are we going next!! We plan to see as much of the world as we can, together, as a family....I love living in Abu Dhabi!!!!