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