Can't talk about the weather...

Holding a falcon

I'm from New England, and we have a saying that if you don't like the weather, to wait a minute. As such, I grew up watching the weather reports and planning my days around the description. I had clothes for warm summer days, warm rainy days, cold rainy days, cold fall days, warm fall days, and the freezing cold of winter.  Since I have been in Abu Dhabi, I no longer need a weather report. Every day is hot and humid.  Just plan on it. Winter will also be warm - 60s and 70s.  Mind you, I am not complaining - especially when friends and family back home will be dealing with the joys of a nor'easter or the bitter February chill. I didn't even bring a rain coat. 

Mallory & I at the Mosque

One thing that is taking some adjustment to is time. First it was recovering from jet lag - which was a doozy.  Now, it is adapting to Abu Dhabi time.... I've always joked that my husband had two speeds (like a John Deere tractor), but most of the time he spent in turtle.  I would work myself up into a full blown anxiety ridden freak out about being late, and he would calmly keep going.  He's going to fit in perfectly over here.  After our orientation night, we were separated into groups to complete our medical checks and our police checks. I was in Group 2 so I needed to leave at 7am for our med check.  We left around 7:15 (despite a stern admonishment to be on time or the bus would leave without us) and proceeded into the city.  We were required to sit on the bus for about 15 minutes after arrival at the center, and then were assigned numbers and sent to a variety of different rooms to be checked.... This 15 minute process took almost 4 hours.  The second event, the police check did not go much better - we were scheduled to leave at 9pm and did not leave until 9:40. We were returned to the hotel after 1am. Yawn. 

My birthday cake

But then I had plenty of time to explore the city. We went to the Falcon Hospital which was incredible. We were able to hold a real falcon, watch a falcon endoscopy, and visit the boarding aviary. My fabulous new friends surprised me with a birthday cake on the evening of my birthday and then the following day, I visited the Grand Mosque. On my birthday, I was able to visit the apartment that my family will live in for the next year (we can change housing after a year - which I think might be likely).  It has been a busy week, but I miss Rob & Belle and can't wait for them to join me.

Deep fried hot dogs and other wonders...

Moving across the world is hard, and right now the hardest part is balancing all the things we have to do, with the things we want to do, and the things we feel we should do.... Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Our schedule has been crazy, and yet, I've been able to do a lot of waiting (im)patiently for more information about my departure.  I am finally out of my splint and well on the way to recovery.  I am able to do all the normal summer activities I love without being crazy....

On Thursday, we went out to dinner with some of the New England teachers traveling to the UAE. It was a HUGE relief to finally meet some of the people going with us and to find out how nice everyone is.  These three ladies were just a few of the people who took a night out to bond over Italian food.

We stayed over at Liz & Brett's and were able to spend some quality time with Liz and Charlie (Brett had to leave for a frisbee tournament), and even Erica came over for lunch on Friday. Then it was off to Manchester for Stephanie & Sam's rehearsal and dinner at KC's Rib Shack, where the food is "healthy" they deep fry hot dogs (we learned this because of Belle's order) - translation: DELICIOUS!

And in case you were wondering what a deep fried hot dog looks like, here is a picture of her dinner:

They call them diamondbacks because of the way they slice them before frying. 

We managed to avoid most of the race traffic by sticking to back roads. On Saturday morning, we went and painted pottery at a local paint-your-own place and then raced back to Liz's to prep for the wedding. Thank heavens for all the time Liz spent in the bathroom playing with make up and hair in high school because she certainly has a second calling as a beautician. I wonder if Brett knows how lucky he is to have married someone who can do as many things as she can? I mean, look how precious this photo is:

The ceremony was beautiful - with great lighting - everything was backlit because of the sun's location in the sky.  Belle did a great job in her third outing as a flowergirl, and Steph & Sam looked very happy as they celebrated their union. Steph made the cake & cupcakes, and all the bridal party headpieces.  She & Sam also made all the favors: pieces of pottery- I ended up with a lovely blue, tulip shaped glass - which were used as our water glasses and gave each table a unique & colorful touch. 

Belle just returned from her friend, Ari's birthday party, and now I think we might all take a nap after running around for the last four days - if not, we're definitely going to bed early. Tomorrow she starts a two-week cycle of swim lessons, and I'm off to watch the finale of Harry Potter with my pal, Ashleigh.  Then we're off to a Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) concert on Tuesday evening, and have a family get together on Saturday. I have a writing camp meeting Monday at lunch time, and I'm sure there are other things that I've forgotten occurring this week as well. But soon enough, I'll have a 14 hour plane ride to catch up on sleep.

The first LT's (licensed teachers) are getting their e-tickets with scheduled departures of August 3 & 4. So far, I am not one of them, but it does mean I'll know soon (or go crazy waiting).  Keep your fingers crossed that I get my golden ticket sooner rather than later.