Over and Out

In March we moved down to Boca Raton so I could take on a Family Pastor position in a church.  Jamie quickly unpacked and we squeezed into our 2 bedroom apartment with tennis courts, pool, and a grand lake in our complex.  

With my first full week completed in the office, I came home and told Jamie it was not going to work.  My heart sank as the few weeks went by and I realized how incompatible my leadership was with the staff.  Looking back on the interview process, I'm constantly thinking of the red flags I ignored, the right questions I didn't ask, or maybe I was just so eager to get back to work, I was willing to sacrifice a lot of things to do what I love doing the most.  I am a leader who loves building teams and equipping people to succeed.  

I agreed with the the staff that it was not going to be a long term situation given the boundaries I had to play in, so I was let go.  

Now, Jamie and I are on the job hunt yet again.  Jamie applied for jobs in Palm Beach County and back in Georgia as well.  I've been looking but a bit of joy has been sucked out of me so I'm still in limbo of whether to take a ministry position or try something completely different outside of paid ministry. 

I did get a lead on a job in Abu Dhabi, UAE where we just came from.  We had visited while we were in the city for a few weeks.  United to United once again?  We have about a month of financial resources to figure that out.  

Still in the air

Jamie and I took a plane ride to Boca Raton FL.  Kids are staying with their aunt, nana, and then dad, who is scared to death of keeping the kids.  My mom would gladly take the kids for a day but when she passed, dad became frightend of "doing the wrong thing."  We kinda forced the issue this time cause we knew he was capable and the girls would love it.

Jamie and I are in Florida to further pursue my job opportunity which is still up in the air but feels solid.  We are heading to the southern pacific coast side.  We walked through the the airport with out any concern of kids dragging along behind us throwing 100 questions at us.  We even ate a hot dinner and took our sweet time.  It was wonderful.  

We will stick around Boca Raton (spanish for 'rats mouth') until Monday evening.  Friday is packed with meetings and greeting with the staff of The Church.  Saturday we will spend our day apartment hunting.  The weather is amazing and typical of FL, we already had our afternoon rain shower.  Sunday will be church day which is set up in a High School.  We look forward to being a part of that experience starting at 6am setting up portable church.  Monday is more meetings and then I guess we must return to the kids at some point...rescue dad.  

40 YEARS IN THE DESERT

2015:  After a unplanned trip to Paris for Christmas, we started a new year with a bang as our family hung out for the New Year under the worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa?  A few weeks later I turned 40.  Another week later we found ourselves layed over in Paris again waiting to fly to Atlanta for our final destination.

Much like Paris and the complete opposite of Dubai, the weather has been cold in Atlanta.

Goodbyes were as hard leaving from Al Ain as they originally were from Sharpsburg Georgia two years ago.  Strong friendships tend to do that to us.  

Our friends were from all over the world and we really never knew if we would be blessed to see those people again.  We tried to be servants, generous, and true neighbors to everyone we encountered.  We hope we left fingerprints of Christ in our little area of influence.  We truly loved the people we taught, shared meals, played, swam, dune bashed, or just listened to.

A wise Proverbs told me: In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps

The beginning of 2015 leaves me still waiting on employment, a tight living arrangement, and temporary schooling for the kids.  We came back with plenty of money to live on for a few months only to get hit with $5000 worth of bills after we arrived.  We are not sitting around doing nothing waiting on everything, but we are certainly not making any big plans.  God is good, faithful, and we are grateful.  All I can conclude at this moment - it's been a rough week!

 

Health Care

Jamie had a partial hysterectomy this year and then went back for a full hysterectomy not long after.  The total cost was 50 dirham ($13.50usd) each visit.  Brooklin has strep for the 2 or third time now...I went to the pharmacy and asked for an antibiotic.  The pharmisist asked a bunch of questions and handed it over without another look from another doctor.  I got bit by something funky a few months ago.  I thought nothing of the swelling and weekly pain until the flesh started falling off my toe.  Yum.

So weeks later I went to the doctor for 50 dirham and he did his magic.  His guess...a scorpion in my tennis shoe...the only reason I wear shoes here.

My dad visited in April and decided to visit the pharmacy for stomach issues.  What I witnessed was the World view of medicine verses America.  The perplexed pharmisist watched my dad window shop for medicine.  He knew he had a stomache issue and gave him a pill but my father wasn't satisfied and was picking up bottles and boxes as if they were unripe fruit in a market.  The pharmist asked him what was wrong and what else he needed.  My dad was looking around for what he might need or thought he could use.  Why would we be looking for medication without an ailment?  I saw that in the look of the pharmist.  I wanted to just say, "We are American.  We love our medication."

As we leave soon, I dred getting back into the American health system especially since things have changed and I have no clue how to navigate the system yet.  I know I'm spoiled on Universal Heath but I'm also satisfied knowing the system is paid for by a rich oil country not in debt.  They don't manufacture anything of significance here in the UAE but they can sure pay for whatever they want.  

Beginning of the end

This time next week we will be back in a fancy hotel for two weeks just like we arrived two years ago.  Again, we have sold all possession with the exception of what we stuffed in 4 suitcases.  Without carpets on the marble floors, the house echoes with children playing and pretending to have toys we sold a week ago.  I even sold the Christmas tree for 120 dirham! ($32US).

We played trivia last night with a couple who arrived with us and will be leaving with us.  We formed a bonding friendship that will span from New Zealand to America.  We were with another couple as well who we bonded with over the summer at the pool.  Since then we have been enjoying their company in our house or theirs.  

This is what make leaving hard - people.  Yes, perfect year round weather is attractive but gaining new friends, learning their jargon, new languages, and sharing experiences have helped us fall in love with the UAE melting pot.  I played tennis with friends from Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Finland, America, New Zealand.  I shared Bibles in Hindi and Sinhala.  I've learned a few words in Sinhala, Finish, and Malayalam.  Jamie teaches Arabic kids all day so her Abrabic is far greater than mine.  Our kids could care less where their friends are from and they still don't look at people in color...yet.  

It is ending as it started.  I am on a bed in an empty house waiting on flight status and wondering what the future holds.  I've been job hunting since September.  That is a process I haven't been a part of in 14 years.  I had more connections back then with different groups.  Now I feel like I'm starting from scratch.  When we get back to Georgia, we will continue to rent out our house in Sharpsburg and live with my dad in Woodstock.  We are now debt free and will leave with a good savings.  I have a security job lined up until I find a permanent job I really want.  

Our family is spoiled by the great weather so we are looking for some place warm to live.  Jamie prefers Hawaii, I'd settle for Texas or Arizona.  But for now we wait.  Canceling Visas, turning in paperwork, canceling services, and waiting on payroll is our final steps.  This week Jamie is in teacher training and will finish with her students January 25.  That another goodbye.  Her student love their American teacher with the beautiful hair.  So do I!

One Year

One year ago we stepped onto the sand of Abu Dhabi with no expectations.  Today, 50% of our original group remains.  A few ran home from local issues ( following the laws are essential).  A few were midnight runners (home sick or didn't like it here). A few couldn't hack it ( poor performance/placement but leaving properly).

Jamie is rocking along with school.  She is nailing the Arabic language down like a beast so I'm guessing she gets a lot of respect from students and the Emirite workers.  It's a whole another set of education issues here so you cant really escape that.  However, she makes friends of enemies, strongly interjects when appropriate, loves her girls, and puts every ounce of energy into her profession. That's why she succeeds and that's why Christ shines in her.  

Homeschooling with my 6yr and 3yr old girls really has been rewarding.  There is so much educational freedom to be creative and crazy.  Our routeen starts every morning with a dance.  I'm sure many people would like to see me bust a move to the Chipmunks.  That's like an Area 51 thing.  No ones ever really gonna see it or live to tell.  

When lesson plans don't keep me busy, I recently started writing a column for a local magazine - The Source.  I am also freelance writing online and getting paid!  I'm building a "writing resume" to do something amazing one day...right.

In Georgia, "hi y'all, bye, and thanks" work fine...unless you work for chickfila then it's a genuinely forced, "my pleasure." My 3yr old barfed her nuggets in your play ground.  Can y'all clean that up?  "My pleasure." So I'm learning a lot of basic greetings.  Here are a few...

Arabic: shukran means 'thank you'

Sinhala-Sri Lanka:  sthoo-ti 'thank you'

Finnish-Finland:  moi is an informal 'hello'

Malayalam-Kerala India:  sukharam means 'are you well'

It's a sign of respect and interest for my friends who happen to be from around the world.  It has been a bonus for my kids to view our world map and talk about where our new friends are from.  

Every year has ups: we came home for the summer and really enjoyed seeing everyone including a last goodbye to my mom.  Jamie had talked me into going back for the summer so that was good.  

We have learn to navigate Dubai and Abu Dhabi and discover something new each time we go.  Ski Dubai was a highlight.  I'm aiming for SkyDive Dubai next or a trip to Muscat, Oman.

Every year has it's downs:  our dog passed away this summer.  This was the first Christmas either of us had ever been away from family.  My good friend and neighbor died around New Years.  I'm suppressing all this death stuff for now, stuffing it way down so it can fester and boil for a while.  

The debate: it's possible we talk about this everyday.  As the song goes, "should I stay or should I go now?"  Ahead of schedule, our school loan will be paid off.  Ultimately, one year here has been amazing.  July 2015 is the end of the teaching contract.  Then what?  What is the thing that makes us say, 'we should go home now.'  Or what is the thing that says, 'stick around, there is more great things to come.'  It's just speculation at this point but we are having the time of our lives trying to figure it all out.  - Jeff 

Happy 42!

As I worked all week, I thought of all my teacher friends in Georgia and how they had the whole week off for Thanksgiving.  They obviously do not celebrate Thanksgiving here and I was so dreading the day b/c I did not want to work.  It turned out I did not have to work!! Dubai was one of the countries vying to host the World Expo in 2020 and they won. Immediately after the win, he Sheik announced school be cancelled so people all over the UAE could celebrate. So awesome!!

We wanted to celebrate the holiday here so Jeff and I invited friends and our "UAE family" here to eat turkey and HAM and all the sides.  We had about 50 people here and the food was yummy.  Imagine my surprise when a co-worker showed up with her Muslim boyfriend.  We apologized for having pork and told him to avoid those dishes:o) we had a wonderful time and it took away some of my home sickness. 

We are about to embark on the National Day holiday here which is where the country celebrates turning 42 years old. So awesome to see how far they have come in such a short time. Every where you look you will see red, green, black and white (flag colors). People wrap their cars and really get into the spirit. They have put up lights every where which actually looks like Christmas!! Too funny how that turned out. I am happy to be here to celebrate 42 years, but the question is, will I be here in 2020 when the World Expo hits Dubai?!

I am still loving my experience of living here.  We will have been here a year in January, time has flown by so fast. You have to love a country that has awesome weather (still 85 during the day and 65 at night). You also have to love a country that allows you to leave school early because it rained:o)

My invite still stands Georgia peeps-if you want to visit, please come on over! You will love it and you will have a free place to hang your hat!!-jamie

Dubai and back

This past week I spent four unintentional days in Dubai.  We took a quick two day trip to visit a zoo and giant flea-market in this amazing downtown park called Safa Park.  This is the most green I've seen in Dubai and the view of the skyline is outstanding.  We also did the Global Village which was the biggest fairground event I've ever encountered.  Wow!

Long story short, while at the flea-market Jamie drops her wallet in the middle of hundreds (she says thousands) of people rummaging through second hand items.  So we headed home after looking around for an hour and skipping the zoo.  I get a call that night from a Philipino family who found the wallet and are really excited to talk with an American for some reason.  The aunt got on the phone to say hi, the sister, a friend...

The next day I'm heading back to Dubai to meet this family and pick up Jamie's wallet which had all ID, Medical, license, and money...we hoped.  HUGE ordeal if we had not gotten this stuff back.  We live about an 1hour 1/2 outside of Dubai.  The IPAD was tuned to Led Zepplin, cranked up and I headed back to Dubai.  

Long story short, meeting the family was a joy and the the Aunt was an 80yr old woman who wanted to share how she found the wallet and her work as a maid for a Jordanian family in Dubai.  She talked about character of honesty and that was what I should expect from a Catholic woman.  I was blessed to meet them.

A couple days later Jamie says, let's go back to Dubai!  There is another ginormous flea-market so we packed up and took the vast sand dune journey a few days later. Two trips in a row and I haven gotten lost so far.  I'm getting the regions and highway numbers figured out now.  I'm still like a kid when we drive by camels in the back of a truck.

We have talked about taking trips to Paris, Italy, HongKong but money is an issue since we ultimately want to save money and remove the chains of debt.  In the end if we do not get to visit these places close by, we can at least say we have been to Dubai.  It's beautiful at night, the creative skyscrapers are enormous, and there is more to do than we ever have time for.  We can't complain because we have gotten to live in the Middle East and experience all of this, just in one little space. - Jeff 

School Daze Year 2

Not sure even where to begin. The school year is underway and we are up and running.  We went home this summer to America and that was fun and sad. We had a week of pre-planning which consisted of LOTS of meetings and finally being told what we were teaching and if we did not like it we could leave. Wow! I am teaching grade 2 girls this year instead of grade 5 like last year. These girls are much sweeter, but they are much lower, obviously.  We are starting at the bottom with letters, colors, name writing, etc. Big change!! The most common name among my girls this year is Nora. I have many.  I learned all of their names (all 54) within the first week. Yay me! We had several teachers leave so we are short 4 teachers currently and have received lots of new teachers.  One of the teachers is from the same area as me. Go Villa Rica!! It is such a small world:o) School is kind of crazy right now since we are still in the first month.  We have had about 4 or 5 schedule changes. We just got our new reading books and are still short in every class. I got up the first day of school with little sleep b/c of nerves & excitement, and realized we had no water! Going to school w/o a shower on day one does not instill confidence that all will be okay, but they have fixed that leak on our compound and we are now getting a shower daily.  Fun times I must say.  Now we are just waiting for the second week in October for Eid ( holiday/celebration=week off of school). - Jamie

Joyful Anniversary

I still wake up fascinated that we are in the Middle East.  We have been here 7months and have finally made ourselves at home.  I could feel at home anywhere I was with my family.  I have spent 15 years today (+2 dating) with my woman.  Wherever she wants to run off to, I'll gladly follow.  Wherever I run off to, she will help me pack my bags.  I'm the more adventures but hey, look where she brought us.  Actually, she has supported me every year of our time together.  I've dragged her through new and difficult times with my job and she has joyfully partnered with me through the past years in Cumming, GA and twelve amazing years in Sharpsburg, GA.  Now its my turn to follow.  We wanted to give this place a shot and I said let's go for it.  Wherever she is, I wanna be.  

She has a bit of wisdom that always makes me say, "she might be on to something."  I wish I had her intuition.  She sees and feels things way before I catch on.  She senses things about people and I eventually see it and think, she is amazing.  

We love trivia together.  Lately we have been doing date night at the Rugby Club surrounded by the British tongue.  We have met some great people and that has been fun for us. Trivia is one place we collaborate well.  Honestly, I wouldn't care if we were just staring at each other in a cafe.  Wherever she is, I wanna be.  

We joke about our kids and how much either is like us.  But I've had the privilege of homeschooling our 6yr old.  I see how much I want Brooklin to be just like her mother.  Brooklin would be an incredible teacher who invests in her kids education but also would take the extra step and know something personnel about every student (all 50 something).  Jamie uses that to her advantage while teaching but they know she genuinely cares.

Jamie has such an effect on her kids and coworkers because all people matter to God and therefore they matter to her.  Really get to know people and you can change hearts and do great things.  That's why every teaching year has been positive, even turning difficult parents into partners in education by years end.  She speaks her mind, she isn't afraid to be honest, and if you ask her what she thinks, be prepared for a point and honest answer.

So here we are 15yrs into marriage and I'm staring at her by the pool side, she is dressed inappropriate for this country but its a private pool so I'm overjoyed I get to see this eye candy.  Too much?

I am so in love with this woman of my life.  God has curiously blessed me beyond what I deserve.  I take that for granted way too much.  We have always joked about the future together.  15 years ago when we started the turmoil of our first year I would guarantee we would have never thought of moving out of the country.  It's amazing what 15 years does to people.  I can't wait to see where we are and how we have grown in 30yrs.  But it really doesn't matter....wherever she is, I wanna be.    
- Jeff

"What are we doing for anniversary?"  Nothing yet but the night is still young and you get paid on Tuesday!  

Graduation!!

AWESOME! This is one of my words to describe the fifth grade graduation today.  My babies (yes I consider them mine b/c I fell in love with them fast), celebrated their last days in elementary school.  Here it is called cycle 1. I had tears in my eyes several times today. The girls get their hair & make up done professionally and they wear what we consider to be prom type dresses. They were all soooo beautiful!! I felt like a proud mom. They sang their national anthem while several played instruments. They sang an Arabic song and an American song (did a great job). They showed a PowerPoint with pics throughout the school year, they performed a skit and received diplomas and a gift.  Mostly it was similar to what we do in the States.  None of the dads come, it is a mom, daughter type of event.  As the mothers and sisters, etc., are sitting and watching they are being served tea, coffee, water and cookies.  Very neat and normal in this culture.
I made it thru my first school year here in the UAE!! I had an awesome year with great girls and I would not have changed it.  One of my students gave me a dozen roses and they were beautiful.  This will be something I will always remember and I thank God for allowing me to be a part of another culture.  As the school year ends, I get sad, but then remember next year will be another great experience and I cannot wait!!  - Jamie

Sounds Like It

I stubbornly wake before each days sunrise.  Atop every mosque, conveniently located on every corner, is a loud speaker that bellows the long swinging moan of Tarzan with a tooth ache.  Its the first prayer of the day followed by four more prayers; noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening.  The waking prayer prompts believers to give thanks to Allah (God) for his guidance and provisions and reminds me how much I do not get along with God before sunrise. Jamie's up for school, I drift back to sleep.  

Through everyday conversation with customer service, I'm embarressed to constantly have to say, "What?" I'm sorry can you repeat that? Ok, one more time please, slower."  Accents can often be thick, quick, and hard to understand.  If I need assistance, Hussin, our security guard, has always been helpful.  He will call anyone for me but insist I talk to them.  I think he does this so he can laugh at me because inevitably I give the phone back and he giggles and translates.  I can't imagine what my Georgia draw sounds like to others.

Because of hot days, the culture here is to be outside at sundown.  Families picnic till 11pm, parks are filled with people, restaurants are booming, dinners start at 8pm.  Night time is busy and loud everyday of the school week.  We went to our first movie here (Fast Furious part X1) it's 11:30pm the mall is wall to wall people and kids.  We sat next to two, two yr olds - not our own. Everyone talked the entire movie and teens up front were trying to see who could talk the loudest.  In a Bizarre change, people clapped and cheered the entire movie.  Subtitles  - Spanish, Arabic, and Jamie saw a movie with French, and Arabic.

I walked through LuLu' grocery and heard "something" by the Beatles, played ten times in a row.  Usually its just instrumental music.  I did hear Amazing Grace instrumental.  I wanted to sing out loud!  Amir, our maintenance friend had Justin Beiber as a ring tone.  It went off and I smirked.  I got the feeling he didn't care.  Ok then.  I did get to see a belly dance on a desert safari.  I don't remember what the music sounded like.

My favorite UAE sound is the car horn.  The horn has a universal message. 

The Tap:  hello! Are you paying attention?

The Punch:  what are you gonna do?

The Press:  what the freak are you thinking!?

Ive learned that i must predict the traffic light and start moving a millisecond before the light change if I want to avoid three or more honking at me.

But the horn brings value to our lives.  Value: When you have a problem with someone, we are to address it directly to that person.  We are honest about how we feel followed by Grace.  

A transgression occurs, we express our disapproval, we forget and move on.  Occasionally, we do get those signals crossed.  "Dad, is he honking at you?" "You honking at me, who's he honking at?" But ultimately, we feel better removing the frustration off our shoulder.  We address it loud, then we forgive and forget.  What a great lesson of sound.  - Jeff 

Missing you...

When you move all the way around the world you find you miss so many things!!  We miss:

• Olive Garden-this is my daughter's favorite place to eat-she loves the breadsticks 
• Waffle House-what can I say, nothing like ingesting grease 
• Old Navy-love shopping here, so it's really a no brainier 
•  Chick-fil-a-as Jeff says, Jesus chicken is good 
• Castaways Consignment-this is my hometown store & it is awesome!! 
•  Evergreen Chinese-located in Carrollton, this place is wonderful & priced well
• CCC-Community Christian Church-best place to worship & serve God ever!! 
• Walmart-kinda sad to admit, but it's true, even miss the lines
• Mexican-chips/salsa/cheese dip-no Mexican here!! Terrible I must say
• flea markets, etc-do you really think they have cheap shopping places here? Uh, no! 

There are things we miss also, not just places:

•  Cheese grits-being from the south, these are a necessity 
•  Cold water-all the water from the faucet is lukewarm
•  Dogs!-I miss my doggies sooooo much-Shadow & Midnight 
•  Regular plug ins- hard to explain, but cords are so different here
•  Books-oh they have book stores & books, but not most of my fav authors
• Miss having meetings that start when they are supposed to, they say meeting starts at 7, it may start at 730 if you are lucky 

We will be temporarily coming home in July.  All the things we miss we will miss no more...for now - Jamie

It's not OK

I went to breakfast with a few guys, most of whom I did not know.  I met one guy from the UK who is a teacher.  He was explaining to me about gesters we all make with our hands.  While explaining this, a South African man across from us is talking and his hands are gestering all over the place.  Eventually the SAfrican man puts his hands down to listen.  UK Charles, teaches adults locally and begins explaining that the gester for OK is rude.  Basically, it's calling someone an asshole.  OK, I'm intrigued now so I'm actually paying attention.  The, talk to the hand, gester is "crap" in your face.
To gester someone to come to you or, come here...not OK.
My wife, Jamie, uses the thumbs up gester a lot at school.  I believe I gave some Emirate kid the thumbs up yesterday after throwing his ball back.  Thumbs up?  Not OK.  So, I threw the ball back and gestered for him to shove it up his...
I laughed knowing Jamie does this everyday with her students.  She constantly tells me to stop using gesters while I drive; all kinds, not just the universal sign of ill will (finger).  Charles tells me a friend of his was arrested recently for waving off a guy in public. So I am pretty much resolved to stick with using my horn now.  No more gesters.
It worthy of death to convert a Muslim to Christianity.  It is wothy of lashings and jail for a Christian to have religious conversation with a Muslim.  Which brings me to Abdulcarter.  He had his family of  four including his wife covered head-to-toe at the pool.  Muslim women will not permitted to swim in front of other men.  They watch, in 100 degree weather.  Jamie noticed them praying when the prayer sounded throughout the city from all the mosque.  Abudulcarter swims up to me and asked the dreaded question I did not feel comfortable answering in this country...what do you do?  "Homeschool dad."  What did you do back home?  "Oh, well, a minister." Like a minister of defense?  "No, pastor, in a church."  I've never sounded so bummed about what I did.  Oh, he says, you are religious?  Jail, lashings, deportation, all these things rushing through my mind but I jump right in...you know me.  "I don't call it religious, just trying hard to be a follower of Jesus."  Crap did I just say that?  Ultimately, we had an interesting conversation.  I learned a bit about Syria, his family there, and the war. But honestly, I have never been so nervous in a conversation!  He wanted to know where my place of worship was etc...so many predjuce thoughts running though my head!  Then I did something not OK, I introduced him to Jamie.  Haha, well culturally that is not proper.  Nor can i ask about his wife.  Jamie knew this better than me and did not make eye contact as she was taught.  That's when I realized; silly me still learning.  But overall, I'm looking forward to meeting him again.  I loved watching my daughter play peacefully with my Syrian friends daughter.  Who knows where this leads. - jeff

Spring Break

Yes it has been wonderful! I don't think I've looked so forward to a break ever before. Of course most of you are saying you got 2 weeks which is plenty long enough, but I'll gently remind you that we will not have any more days off between now & the end of school. School ends for teachers here on July 4th. Fitting right? Independence Day for the USA and for me teaching-ha! Ha! I guess I should have paragraphs in this blog right?!
I have done a lot this spring break and have enjoyed it. We went to the top of the mountain (are you as surprised as I that they have mountains in the desert?), Jabeel Hafeet. It is beautiful at the top of the mountain. We took great pictures also. This is one of those things where you see how amazing God really is. There is a hotel at the top also & let me just say wow! At the bottom of the mountain is a picnic area of sorts with lots of green grass. Along with the green grass is a warm springs where kids can play. It truly is an amazing find.
We went to Dubai to experience the beach. The kids loved the beach and we found awesome sea shells.  After we left the beach, we went to the palm island  where we had dinner at a very nice restaurant. The dinner came from our neighbor and friend who visited us this week. A big thanks to him! (I was more excited about the oatmeal pies he brought from home though).   When we were in Dubai we went to two different malls, the Dubai Mall and the Mall of Emirates.  When they do malls here, they really do malls here. They have a place to ski indoors with snow along with other great things. Of course I love malls and shopping!
We went to Abu Dhabi.  We toured the Grand Mosque.  This is the only mosque you are allowed in if you are not Muslim. It was very grand! I must have really wanted to see that if I was willing to be covered head (literally) to toe.  The building is so amazing, it looks fake in pictures. After leaving the Grand Mosque we went to the Emirates Palace which is a hotel you can tour and take pictures of. Wow!! Everything here is grand and wow.  I don't think they ever build with small in mind:0)
The last big thing we did was a desert safari. Let me just say, interesting. I'm not sure if I have another word for it. We went sand dune bashing (is this what it is called?). Jeff busted his tail bone, I hit my head on the roof of the SUV and Brooklin slammed into the side and hurt her arm.  After getting out and trying not to throw up, the girls got to ride a camel-priceless! They will always remember that I hope. We saw a belly dancer during dinner. It was good, but I don't feel so bad about how my tummy looks anymore if you get what I'm saying.
Spring is only a few days from ending and that is kinda sad, but what a great time. I am resting these last few days, but stressing a little as I learn to drive. Finally have a license and am driving for the first time in about 2 or 3 months. Yay me!  Have enjoyed myself and I can say, if you ever have the chance to visit the UAE you should!! It's a great place with lots to do and see.  So come on over. If you need a place to stay....
-Jamie

Good Thursday!

First, we are floored by the amount of people who follow the blog.  Thanks for checking out our adventure.  It's Easter weekend here so I'll express my thoughts on this moment for us.  To my unchurched friends...you know this is a significant part of our lives so grunt and bare it for a moment.  Being in a Muslim country has not effected/affected our lives or our faith.  Luckily, we are in a tolerant country compaired to the surrounding area, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc...
The issue is The Church.  There is a compound that houses 30 churches at different times of the week.  These are Christian however 98% are in another language.  We visited one church meeting on Friday (church day here). No thank you!  Ed I apologize for ever complaining about the length of the service and how the kids and volunteers suffer.  Friday church - 2hours!  And they cant figure out why no one volunteers to serve with the kids.  Then we found a home church on Thursdays.  1hour 1/2 we sit through starting at 7:15ish pm. We celebrated Easter on Thursday at this home church with about 50 others.  So Christ has already died and risen this week so we get to sleep in on Sunday.  Now it's spring break here for two weeks..  We attend a small group in our village.  Great people but the curriculum, ugh! We read through a Bible story THREE times before discussing it.  Marcia, I apologize for ever complaining about small group. We actually shared with them our struggle to adapt to the church - well you know my woman how she expresses herself - she went off on a 20min tirade about the curriculum.  Luckily, we were still invited back.  I never thought church would be the stress in my life.  All this to say - pray for us.  Im grateful there is a Church here and blessed we are not percecuted like neighboring countires.  But im not content to be where i dont feel comfortable inviting unchurched friends.  Its a social club for Christians if the church is satisfied with talking church lingo and persistent on everyone "knowing" their Bible and every story it holds before learning how to honor God with struggles of everyday life.  Do i pull a Martin Luther (16th Century), go rogue and start something new?  Or do we work side by side with the good people here who have passionate hearts to worship the only way they have learned how?  Why didnt MLuther work from the inside out?  Oh yes, they kicked him out.  We need a "church for the rest of us" in the UAE.  You know me ill buck the system but I'm asking for wisdom to do what's right and honor God with our actions.  There are SO many ways we could help the church here but...I keep coming back to; what about the unchurched? - Jeff

Sunday to Thursday

Exhausted is what I am!! I also realized an error in my previous blog. Sorry about that. As a teacher I cannot stand errors in my writing.  Today was actually not a bad day. I received a half dozen roses from a student.  Wow was about all that came to mind. It was so very sweet and I am very thankful that some students actually like me.  These girls are not the easiest. I have 2 fifth grade classes ( my first time teaching fifth grade also).  One class has 27 and the other has 26. This only changes when another teacher in my grade level is absent, then I have about 13 more. This happened this week actually.  Not very easy to have class with that many girls. My girls cannot stand that I make them sit where I want them to. I also move the desks around every week-hehe. One girl actually cried when she found she wasn't sitting by her best friend. I tell them to get over it b/c it's only for three class periods in a row. The girls love to roll their eyes at me as well. I just laugh and say I can do that to, you wanna see. They laugh and we move on. I explain my directions in English and have my highest student (she is awesome) translate in Arabic so that everyone understands. I now know why we make good money here though. We work our butts off every day. The culture here is so very different and it's not unusual for the students to be rude (a lot). They will literally talk right over you. I have learned to make them leave the class and allow them to enter when I am ready for them to. I love them, but they need structure. I think they are learning I love them b/c their previous teacher called them by number instead of their names-what the hell? No way, I told the girls I would learn them and I knew all names within the first 2 weeks!! Not that hard when you care. I have many girls named Hamda and Mouza. Most of my students are beautiful, but they say the same of me. They all want to brush and touch my hair. A sign they really like me is when they sacrifice a piece of candy and share with me. These kids LOVE candy. I now use it as bribery-sad I know, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. We teach from 7-3 on Sundays and Wednesdays and 8-2 the other three days.  Remembering school begins on a Sunday still throws me off. We have standardized testing here also. Can you believe that? I guess I thought if I left the states I would not have that as we do, but it's very similar to the CRCT. It's called EMSA. We are doing prep for it. Makes me wanna scream b/c it's very difficult! The more things change here, the more that stays the same. - Jamie

Learning it all again

I'm completely tossing out all thoughts of US dollars, switching to kilometers, and measuring by meters and centimeters while cooking with celsius.  I'm learning it all again.  I walk around with one thousand dollars in my pocket!  Well, ok it's one thousand dirham but still seems like I'm loaded.  My family of four eats out for 200 dirham.  Grocery shopping is over 2000 dirham.  My church offering is several thousand - how happy God must be? So whether I'm hanging curtains, maintaining kph speed while looking 2 km further for the McDonalds that will charge me 11dhr for a happy meal on a 40 degree celsius day...I'm erasing all thought of what I use to know otherwise it really jacks up my brain.  Now, to work on the language. - Jeff

Moving In!

Well we made it! We spent the first night in our new place last night. We moved into a place called The Village. We are now called the "village people". I think they have shirts, seriously. This place is so stinking huge I can loose my kids in here. It have a huge flight of marble stairs, 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths. Wow!! Neither one of us have ever lived in anything this large. We are gonna have to hire a part time maid b/c seriously if you know me, that much cleaning, that ain't happening! We have been to the mall every day this week buying stuff for this place. My question remains, will we ever be done?? Jeff is my new handy man-he hooked up washing machine & dishwasher. The washer & dryer is one unit, you turn it on, it washes and dries in one machine. BRILLIANT-come on America, get w/ the program. He also put together my vanity table. Did not want one, but there are no plug-ins in the bathrooms here so I'll be getting ready in the bedroom @ 5 am. Poor Jeff:o) we were told we don't receive a bill for power & water, we just call whenever. WHAT? Who can remember that. We will forget & call in a couple of months & the bill will be outrageous. We have a lovely pool here, but there's no water in it. They said it would be ready in 2 weeks (of course they said that 2 years ago).  Each room has its own air control which is cool. I have been scrubbing floors and cabinets until I'm so tired. The woman that lived here before was so gross. Well I'm going to go now and sleep in what they call a king bed, but actually it's very small (Jeff and I have bumped foreheads during the night-ouch. If anyone ever wants to send a care package-ha! Ha! - Jamie
Our address:
Jamie Skinner
P.O Box 88888
Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
056 3379820

Getting around

So the inside lane goes all the way around to exit crossing three lanes, the middle lane does whatever it wants, and the third lane takes the first exit off the round about.  This is part of my new driving lessons. I feel like I'm 16 again navigating and learning new rules for all these roundabouts.  Ive only gotten lost once, like - where the hell am i lost - not im on the wrong street lost.  im on the wrong street everyday...cause all signs are in arabic.  I count roundabouts to figure out where im going.  Driving to Jamie's school is simple but watch out for camel crossings.  The camel farms are near the Oman border near her school.  Speaking of Oman!  i got stuck at the Oman border with two girls in my arms for 2hours.  The attendant made me get out cause they were frustrated with me.  Apparently i wasnt doing something right.  Who me? Not my kind of excitement.  The drive is rugged, desert brown land, but the mountain across the street from the school is majestic.  I love that drive.  The radio plays everything in Arabic, as they should, but when the rare American song comes on, the girls get excited to hear a piece of home.  Home...the girls miss home, until they get into one of three pools, then all is forgotten. Me, I'm good taking it all in, trying to remember names and getting our permanent housing set up. Still in a hotel for now living out of a suitcase. Still feels like a vacation.
- Jeff