Lost in translation (or all about transportation)...

I come from Northern NH, where cars are a necessity and trucks are even better.  When you move overseas, you learn about the transportation needs of new locations. 

Moving to the UAE taught me that my family could survive with one car (we had always been a multi-car family - and usually also had a back-up third car/truck)....  If we had been placed in Abu Dhabi city, depending on my school's location, we might not have needed a car at all because public transportation is so prevalent. Due to the location of our first flat in Al Ain, we learned that having a personal vehicle was the way to go, and after observing the driving here, we opted to purchase a new car.  Many people chose to buy, but I also know many people who enjoy the conveniences of renting.  

It took less than a week to find a buyer for the car, but due to some confusion with my registration (I really should have learned to read Arabic and be more fluent with speaking it), the sale took almost two weeks to close. After multiple visits to the traffic office, bank, and phone calls, as well as the assistance of a good friend, and her Arabic speaking husband, the registration issue was resolved and the sale could conclude with a final trip to the traffic office.  

Thank heavens for a patient buyer and for being a woman, as each visit to the traffic office allowed me to skip the queue and jump to the front of the line - even before they started to recognize me upon arrival! Definitely a cultural perk I will miss.

After concluding the sale, I learned that there are no refunds on your Salik account (the UAE version of EZPass), so for future exiters, let your Salik run low before selling your vehicle to minimize the loss.

Becoming a critical thinker...

This morning, Belle and I were talking about my Goodreads review of Rick Riordan's new book, The Sword of Summer.  Riordan is currently her all time favorite writer and started her on her journey of fandoms. As such, I will be forever grateful for him and his writing, but that doesn't make him infallible. She acknowledges issues with his later books, and she has yet to read the new Norse book, only my review and what other Riordan fans have been posting.

To give you context, here's my review: 

"I really wanted to like this book, but it is even less developed than the Kane Chronicles, and not as well done as the Percy Jackson series. The story lacked strong character development and after spending a whole book in Magnus Chase's head, I honestly couldn't tell you much about him. There is not enough time spent world building in both the regular world and the other eight worlds that make up the Nine Worlds of Norse mythology. It reads like an early draft rather than a developed story that is marking the beginning of a new series.
Also Riordan attempted to add some diversity to the story by the addition of some Muslim characters, including one of the leads. While this is admirable in thought, it is unfortunately not well researched. A Muslim can not serve Odin as a Valkyrie as that directly conflicts with the central tenet of Islam, that there is no God but Allah... it made the character ring false and grated whenever her hijab came up in the story.
I am unlikely to read anymore in the series which is sad because I've always enjoyed Riordan's work and how accessible he makes cultural mythology. It had such potential. "

Having spent the last years in a Muslim country, we have truly been lucky to learn more about the Islamic faith. We have many Muslim friends and have had many discussions to learn more about their religion and also examined how it relates to ours. Riordan never made any of his characters religious before, so it was an easy sell to have them recognize their demi-god status and acceptance of historic mythology. In making one of his character's religious, he's removed that part that is true faith, allowed her some of the trappings of her faith without the substance behind it, and made it more like a dress up experience. As a person of faith, it was upsetting and, and as a human being, I find it disrespectful and as Belle put it this morning, ignorant. She recognizes that our time abroad has allowed us to be thoughtful in this instance and to be aware of what many may miss. We have been blessed with the opportunity to learn and see faith in practice in both our home church community and while living in a Muslim country. 

All faiths deserve true respect. Religion isn't about the trappings, but the beliefs and values.  Adding diversity is great, but be educated about how you do it. Look at what G. Woodrow Wilson has done with Ms. Marvel - that's a better example of a Muslim girl standing by her beliefs in a fictional world.

How things change while you are busy living life....

I stopped blogging about our new adventures because, well, honestly, it stopped feeling so much like a new adventure and just felt like life. As we prepare to depart the UAE, it feels like it is time to blog again...

Since August 2011, this has become our home away from home. We attend regular community events, belong to a local church, developed traditions (yes, we will be doing our annual holiday cookie decorating), and we run into friends whenever we leave the house.

Our lives have changed a lot.  Professionally, I have become the grade level coordinator for my school and helped further develop the curriculum for the Abu Dhabi School Model. I've become educated about different learning models and discovered that I was IB before that was really a thing (now onto getting some official training in it, so I can claim the qualification!). Socially, I've made some great friends and had some heart wrenching "see you laters." On the plus, that means we have friends all over the world  (but that is also a negative too, as it means they aren't nearby)....Personally, our family make up has changed as well. I came with a family of three, and I'll be leaving as a different family of three... Birthing and divorcing in a foreign country was an experience, but not really something I want to write about at this time.

This July, it will be time to call some place else home, and currently, we have no idea where that will be - so strange for this NH girl who likes to live by a plan. It may be repatriation to the US, or it could be the continuation of our expat adventures. It's in God's hands at the moment. If you have any suggestions, we'd love to hear them.

The move is predicated by Zofia becoming school age - preschool next year! - and Belle's tuition continuing to increase (as well as other cost of living expenses) with no correlating income increase. We've started to sell off the non-essentials (like the dishwasher), and my car has been listed for sale, with a sale pending.  I've rented what I believe will be our final UAE car, a Toyota Yaris, and we'll continue the reduction of things you accumulate, but won't go on to the next adventure with you. I think the next items on the block will be a gently used recliner and the two extra mattresses I've somehow accumulated (one day I will count the number of beds that were somehow collected by us during our UAE time....).

And so begins, our long goodbye to the UAE....