Happy Birthday Katie

On a rainy Sunday in Houston, at 5:45 am , you came into our lives and today we celebrate that event. Ten days after your birth, we had you on an airplane bound for New Orleans, your new home. You have had many moves and many airplane trips since and we have loved watching you grow into the beautiful young lady that you are today. You are twenty on the twentieth, so this is your lucky year. We love you Katie-bug....have a very happy day.

Tur-duc-ken

Now that we have bought a house in Dallas, I'm often asked if I like living there better than in Houston. I do like the fact that north Texas is closer to my kids, but I have to admit that I've left my heart in the Bayou City.

I could blog for a month on the things I miss, but since it is the holiday season I will stick with things festive.

Here is my Christmas list of things you can only get in Houston

1. Pancho Claus and his low-rider sleigh

2. cheap bling at Charming Charlie's

3. mosquito bites on Christmas Eve

4. festive green mold on your yard Santa

5. my parents' house

6. Tur-duc-kens

What are Turduckens you may ask. If you are from Dallas you will ask because you have never seen one. In Houston, we know good food because we live closer to New Orleans and we have more Cajuns. It was some of these Cajuns that invented the wonder known as a turducken. These are turkeys stuffed with a duck and a chicken and some dirty rice or crawfish jambalaya. Once you have one, it is hard to go back to the boring butterball turkeys you find in Dallas. Yes, I will be importing one up north to Dallas for the holidays.

Expat excuse syndrome

My tree is not up...my gifts are not wrapped...(actually my gifts are not purchased)...my cards are not signed...but I have a great excuse....I'm an expat. No one expects much of you when you live overseas. I have even been known to use this excuse when I've moved back to the states. I just say I'm behind on things because I used to be an expat. I got behind in 1991 and I really have never caught up. So don't worry if you haven't gotten your Findley Christmas card yet...expat excuse syndrome at work.

On another note...here are some blue-eyesighted observations from the past few days...

- I saw on the news that a guy in Dallas invented a box that wraps itself...I love America.
- If you are shopping for boots in the DFW area...you are too late. I have been told that boots start selling in August and are usually picked over by Sept. I know that the majority of the country's competitive shoppers live in the metroplex, but buying boots when it is 100 degrees??? I stand (in my bare feet) in awe of these women.
- I've only been out of the country for a month, but while I was gone the leaves on the trees have fallen, the Christmas decorations have all been put up and Oprah has taken over the world.
- My new favorite show is Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Chanel. Who knew that growing mushrooms involved so much manure? This is the only channel I can find without Oprah on it.

Watching the sunrise with Scarlett and Rhett

By far the best movie for jet lag


It is 4:00 am....I am up. Having jet lag gives me the rare opportunity to be a "morning person". Did you know that there is nothing on TV before 6:00 am? I get a lot of reading done and watch really long movies during jet lag nights. My circadian rhythms are usually back on track in about a week and I'll be back to my night-owl ways. I think I'm going to enjoy the sunrises while I can.


This is the first post I have written from Texas. The purpose of this blog has always been to write about my observations of a foreign land. Sometimes in the course of being an expat, the tables turn and foreign seems familiar and vice versa. Having jet lag gives me time to ponder these thoughts between infomercials. Now, I need to go order The Amazing $9.99 Tub Scrubber and get back to Scarlett and Rhett.

This genie is not in the bottle

Well I'm packing to go home again.
Flights to Europe usually leave between 11:58pm - 12: 05am. so I'm never quite sure what day it is that I'm leaving. The Saturday 11:58pm and the Sunday 12:05am will both arrive in Dallas on Sunday. Somewhere in there I lose 10 hours and a functioning brain. Yes it is very confusing. It is like when you arrive at the airport you feel you should go to arrivals gate but no....you have arrived to depart and should, therefore, go to the departure gate. It is amazing I don't miss more flights. David assures me I'm the only one confused by all of this.

The Abu Dhabi airport is very unique (see above). It is like being inside the genie's lamp...no windows and a lot of smoke. This genie has discovered that for a few dirhams more you can get Golden Class service. Instead of second hand smoke and claustrophobia, you get a private escort to a lovely lounge with food, TV and Internet. Worth every penny!!!

Blue-eyesight gets a little cross-eyed when I get to Texas. Who are all these friendly people in cowboy hats??? Where are the burkas, dishdashes, Ferraris? Oh yeah...I'm back home. This is called culture shock and it works both ways.

If there were mosques on the moon

Oman was a nice change from the flat deserts of the UAE. Much of it looks like the surface of the moon only with mosques.













The country is run by Kenny Roger's long lost twin brother,
the Sultan "Crazy Eyes" Qaboos.
He likes to look at you as you drive under bridges.

The hotel was beautiful...

The beach was beautiful too.

The Portuguese left their forts behind in Muscat and a lot of European charm too.























This is how David likes to shop....driving by the souk going 60 mph

Sinterklaas has left the building

When the girls were very young we lived in Holland. In the 2 1/2 years that we were there, we adopted the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas. There was no way to escape it, their friends were all getting visits from Sinterklaas. The problem was that Sinterklaas comes in Nov. and the annoying man leaves presents in their wooden shoes EVERY DAY for weeks until he leaves on Dec 5. He doesn't leave quietly either...his departure is marked by leaving a really big present.

His actual birthday is Dec. 6, so I'm not sure why Sinterklaas Dag(day) is the 5th. Maybe the fact that he is supposed to be hundreds of years old has led people to believe it is highly likely that he may die any minute. To be sure that they receive the presents anyway, they celebrate his birthday a day in advance.

He doesn't replace Santa, but is just the opening act. He comes with his helpers, the politically incorrect Zwarte Pieten (black Petes). They run around, throw stuff at the kids and cause a lot of trouble.

Fast forward 17 years. There are still certain good "little girls" that get a care package from Sint this time of year. We call it a little Christmas teaser. It looks like Sinterklaas is going to be with us forever and ever and ever.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

When I was growing up, we always waited until after my brother's birthday, on Dec 3, to start decorating for Christmas. Here in Abu Dhabi, they wait until after their country's birthday to start their decorating as well. That's right...they decorate for Christmas here. They have Santa and a lot of the little kids lining up to see him are wearing dishdashes. Lets just hope Santa doesn't give them a teddy named Mohammed.

One of the biggest surprises I had when I got to Abu Dhabi was how much Christmas decorating is done here. This is a place where my Bible was confiscated at customs so I expected there to be a total ban of the holiday.

Boy was I wrong. The malls and hotels are decorated as much or more than they are at home.

If you think about it, there are many things about Christmas that Arabs love....

Shopping

Gaudy gold stuff draped over everything (tinsel)

clashing color schemes (red/green)

Workers that do everything for you (elves)

Things that go fast (reindeer)

Guys with beards (Santa)

Guys with beards and camels (wise men)

Jesus (he is one of their prophets)
You see, Muslims have no problem with Jesus, just with Christians.

Happy Birthday Chuck....may your Ags always win and your girls only date Eagle Scouts.....

love ya...now I've gotta go and put up my tree

Happy 36th Birthday UAE

Today is UAE's National Day.

Here is a short history of a very young country.

The 7 states (or emirates) that make up the UAE were formerly known as the Trucial States, The term trucial refers to the fact that the sheikhs ruling the seven states were bound by truces with Great Britain.

The British were not really interested in colonizing this area because it was basically a desert with some guys on camels. How could they have known that Justin Timerberlake would one day be performing on these shores?

Originally Bahrain and Qatar were to be part of the federation, but after three years of negotiations they decided to be independent.

On Dec 2, 1971, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah decide to form the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi is chosen as the capital and Sheikh "Big Daddy" Zayed the president. The oil money starts pouring in, Ferrari's replace the camels and petunias start sprouting in the desert.

The UAE has accomplished so much in a very short amount of time and serves as a shining example to it's other Arab neighbors. Happy Birthday.

Long Weekend

Yesterday it was announced that in honor of UAE National Day there would be a four day weekend. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we never quite know when holidays will be. Two days notice is pretty common. Luckily this holiday goes by the regular calendar and we don't have to have a Saudi Arabian moon sighting or anything to know when it is. We had an idea that it might be a long weekend, so we planned a trip to Oman. We leave today for a 5 hour + 1 border crossing drive to Muscat and will be back on Sunday. I hope to have some blog-worthy experiences whilst there and will share them with you next week. The map is for you Dad!

It's petunia time

For the past few weeks, preparations have begun for UAE's National Day on Dec. 2.

This is may look like a normal car, but in Abu Dhabi during National Day preparations, it is considered

"blank canvas".....

.... because you must take your car and put giant pictures of Sheikh Zayed and sons (the sons are optional) over all the windows. Since that makes visibility virtually zero, then someone must hang out of the sunroof and help navigate all the while blaring arabic music. This must go on all night.

These may look like normal high rise buildings.....

WRONG....more blank canvas

My favorite part of National Day is that they consider the sand a canvas too....behold all the petunias.

Sheikh Zayed would be very proud.

Blazing Wheels

How do they get to fires in Dubai? In a Corvette of course. Huge engine in front....tiny portable fire extinguisher in back. Okay, it may not be that great for fighting fires, but damsels in distress can't resist it.

Abu Dhabi Ladies Book Club

This month I hosted the monthly meeting of the Abu Dhabi Ladies Book Club. We have 12 members from 7 different countries which makes for interesting book choices. One of our members is an English literature teacher and she forces us to actually discuss the book. (Very annoying...we're going to have to kick her out I think. )

Here are some books about the Middle East that our group found interesting and enlightening. We're making you proud Oprah.












Mother without a Mask by Patricia Holton tells the true story of a westerner that befriends the wife of the sheikh of Abu Dhabi. She observes what really goes on behind those veils and is a baffled as I am about their obsession with Kleenex.

In Search of Fatima- A Palestinian Story - by Ghada Karmi - We don't hear this side of the story in the USA. Oprah, are you listening?


Princess by Jean Sasson - Is Scarlett O'Hara in a burka. I would laugh out loud on one page and be completely horrified on the next. I couldn't put it down.


Blood and Sand by Frank Gardner - This tells the true story of a BBC reporter sent to cover the 2004 Al-Khobar massacre (as seen in the recent movie, "The Kingdom"). He finds himself on the wrong side of Al Qaida and is gunned down in the streets of Riyadh.
(This is of extra interest to me because one of the American survivors of the Al-Khobar massacre is in my bible study group. We have been praying for her as she undergoes her sixth surgery for gunshot wounds.

Nine Parts of Desire - The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks- Brooks is a Wall Street Journal reporter who spent seven years living and working in the Middle East. She seems very much aware that the average westerner has been exposed to only negative and one-dimensional views on the subject of Islam. I found that she filled in many of the gaps in my understanding of this culture.

The Burqini

The Islamic law, or Sharia, sets several bounds that impact Muslim athletes. This includes rules regarding the awrah,(those parts of the body not to be exposed in public). The hijab or burquas required by strict Islamic societies can make it difficult for women to engage in many sports. Also, men are not allowed to have clothing that shows the area between the knees and bellybutton, prohibiting them from engaging in, for example, competitive swimming. (No Speedo for Abdullah). For some time, Iranian women at the Olympics only competed in shooting because it was the one area unaffected by their dress codes. There are also several other concerns for Muslim athletes. For example, it is noteworthy that the name Olympics originates from Greek mythology, deemed by Islam to be a pagan religion. This is why you don't see many Muslim countries represented at these games. The biggest surprise for me was that there are restrictions on heavyweight boxing, since it includes harming on purpose. ??? (There must be a loophole in that rule somewhere.)
I don't know if a study has ever been done, but I have read enough articles about burqua-wearing to think that there has to be a connection between walking around in a tent and weight gain. The cumbersome garment makes even going up and down stairs difficult and at the same time conveniently conceals any extra pounds that may have accumulated due to restriction of movement.
Having said all this, my hat is off to a feisty Muslim lady who had enough of trying to be sporty in layers and layers of fabric. Even though she has received death threats for her "racy" designs, she has invented a sporty hybrid mix of about 1% bikini and 99% burqua called the Burqini. No worries about skin cancer, shaving, waxing, or lumps and bumps in the wrong places. I think she is on to something.

blue ribbon day

Yesterday, 5000 people joined in a walk-a-thon on the Corniche to raise awareness about the growing problem of Diabetes (type I and II) in the UAE. Type I diabetes is also called insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes because it is usually discovered in children and teenagers, but adults may also have it. It is often inherited and patients must take insulin shots every day. Type II diabetes is usually found in overweight adults but is becoming much more common in children. Poor diet and sedentary lifestyles tend to bring this one on. Changing one's diet and activity level can often control this form of the disease. In a nation with skyrocketing adult obesity rates (75% in one report) this is becoming a real problem. This is even shocking to someone who comes from Houston, "the fattest city in the USA."
There are many factors at work. The westernization of the arab diet, the difficulty of exercising in the heat and within the constraints of Islam and the ancient, tribal customs of marrying within a family.
Blue-eyesight has a suggestion for controlling this disease....don't eat so much, don't sit around so much and stop marrying your first cousins.

Another Place

Several years ago, when we lived in Norway, we first experienced art on the beach.

This was a work titled "Another Place" by the Turner Prize winning artist, Antony Gormleyhttp://www.antonygormley.com/.

Another Place consists of 100 cast-iron, life-sized, naked, anatomically-correct (hey, it's Scandinavia) figures spread out along the beach and into the North Sea. Contractors spent three weeks lifting the figures into place and driving them into the beach. The figures were cast replicas of the artist's own body. The girls called this "Naked Men on the Beach" because ...well ... that is what it was.

After the statues were removed, they were recast and and reincarnated into another work called "Broken Column". This had them spread out around the town of Stavanger at certain exact levels and locations.

You never quite knew where you would find them. There was one in a shop, one at a gas station and one was hidden in a staircase outside the main parking garage. I think I screamed every time I came around the corner and found him lurking there. Here are a few of the members of The Broken Column.

(With the high gas prices in Norway, a little art was a nice distraction.)

This one liked to shop.

This is the one that made me scream every time.

Well, this story doesn't stop here. For my readers in Dallas, you too can see a work by Antony Gromley. Where you might ask? What art museum? Why in the mall, of course. If you are ever in North Park Mall, look for a work called "Three Pieces" . Who knows where else these guys might have been.

These guys like to shop too.

Please pass the tabouleh

The kiwis made the pumpkin pie an interesting shade of green

Just like the fourth of July, Thanksgiving is strictly an American holiday. When you are overseas you get to whip that holiday out when no one else can and that makes it very special. The American company that we are over here with has had a Thanksgiving buffet on the beach for the last 10+years. There are over 100 people that attend and only a few are Americans. We have Iranians, Pakistanis, Malays, Egyptians, Lebanese, Germans, Brits, Aussies, South Africans, Japanese and Chinese. Of course there are the Canadians that try to hone in on our Thanksgiving because theirs was during Ramadan and we let them because it is Thanksgiving and we have to be nice.

This is the second time that we have gone and it has become my favorite company event of the year. Tonight we had turkey, tabouleh, sweet potatoes, hummus and pumpkin pie with kiwis. Just like grandma makes, right? It didn't really matter what we ate it didn't matter where we were from, we were all very thankful for all of our blessings.

By the way, hummus tastes really good with gravy.

"Art" (???) on the Beach

Now that Abu Dhabi is the "Capital of Culture", it seems "art" is everywhere.

Walking along the Corniche road, I noticed some things laying in the sand. Is this a new playground? Nuclear waste dump. No, it is "art"! I know that because the newspaper said so. Thank goodness they tell us these things. They look like bombs to me. I was afraid that maybe this was art of the enriched uranium kind. Perhaps an early Hanukkah present to Israel from our good neighbor Iran that got lost in the mail and washed up on our beach.

The Mona Lisa needs to hurry up and get here.

Abu Dhabi gets artsy

Why is Dubai green with envy?


Well, it used to be the only cool kid on the block, but not anymore. Here in Abu Dhabi we have Justin Timberlake now.
Not only that, we are getting a Louvre AND a Guggenheim. Paris doesn't even have both. (Wait, let me check that....NOPE, they do not).
The people of France are not happy about their art going to a country that allows orange and black Rolls Royces, but to ease their pain, Abu Dhabi is paying them $1.3 billion . That should put a smile on the Mona Lisa.


(The Abu Dhabi Louvre)

Abu Dhabi is now the "Capital of Cool"

I've been back in Abu Dhabi for over a week and I have been amazed at all that has changed in the last few months.

First, the oppressive heat is gone and has been replaced by a nice cool breeze

Second, the empty beach chairs are gone and are now occupied by large German people

Third, the streets of Abu Dhabi are blooming again with Zayed's petunias

and most importantly, Abu Dhabi has now become "cool".

How did this happen? When I left, Abu Dhabi was just the place where the boring dignitaries came to talk to Sheikh Khalifa about "strengthening ties." (aka...how can we get some of your money?)

Now I'm hearing that Justin Timberlake is coming to the capital. It is costing $1.75 million dollars to bring him here. It'll be the biggest gig Abu Dhabi has ever hosted. 10,001 people (the one being JT) on the Emirates Palace lawn on Dec. 6. We can't miss this!!!

*note to a certain insurance underwriter....it was reported that JT will be traveling with his golf clubs

Somebody get the Sheriff

Today while waiting for David to get a pair of pants hemmed, I took a walk around the block. I happened to have my camera with me and these are a few of the things I saw and some thoughts....


Can you hate pork yet still love your "Hog"?

In a country that forbids Muslims to buy alcohol, do they really want their young people getting their hair cut in a saloon? Where are the swinging doors and the gun slingers? Is this guy the sheriff?

I'm going to have to go back to the saloon and get the sheriff. We need to round up a posse and find the varmint that painted this Rolls Royce because there has been serious crime committed here.

I know one thing... this country may be a desert, but it is fertile ground for blog pickin's.