Call to Prayer

Call to prayer sings out 5 times a day. It can be beautiful. It can also be a bit hard to take at 4:30 a.m. I had more or less become used to the early morning call to prayer, and would sleep through it in Abu Dhabi. Here at my dad's though, it gets Hope and I up every time. That and the evil rooster that lives across the street. Today he decided to call his cock-a-doodle-doo at 2 a.m. and then chime in with the Imam at sunrise, too. Bird brain. Here is part of the noon call to prayer. You can hear 2 different mosques mingling. I like the bougainvillea creeping along my dad's walls. They remind me of growing up in Fresno.

Caesar's buns

When we first moved to Abu Dhabi we were not impressed with the food. Everything tasted a little strange; just not what we were used to. Something has happened. Everything that once was so-so has become increasingly more delicious to us. Point in case - Caesars is within walking distance from where we live. They make cakes, rolls, breads stuffed with meat, cheese and other mysterious substances we are not brave enough to try. Our neighbors have often invited us over to enjoy their company and some of Caesars' confections. At our last get together they had the famous Caesar's "cheese buns". After I tried one cheese bun, then another, I realized I had just consumed a new favorite obsession. Today I began dreaming of cheese buns in the morning. Dreaming turned to salivating. By 2 p.m. I was ready to get me some buns! Warm, soft, and buttery; filled with creamy white cheese, sprinkled with sesame seeds on top...


My cravings were not to be fulfilled. I was thwarted once again by the dastardly afternoon siesta! Caesar's was closed from 2 - 4. Criminy. I'd have to come back later. I'm taking a picture of the hours of operation to show you. The guy behind me was riveted by my behavior. It was really hot outside.

Something to Celebrate

Only 3 more days of packing school lunches!

It will be a great relief to throw out the lunch boxes that perpetually clutter my kitchen counters, and to no longer spend 30 minutes every night cutting off bread crusts, trimming lunch meat and counting cookies.

We were excited to read the lunch menu for the schools in Michigan: tacos, hamburgers, pasta. My girls won't touch the more ethnic local cuisine of their cafeteria here: rice biryanis, grilled fish, curries. The pizzas and hot dogs are also just different enough to offend their over-sensitive palettes, so they take packed lunches every day. It will be great to buy school lunches at least a couple times a week.

Speaking of celebrations... A group of Jon's students surprised him and a few of his other departing colleagues with a farewell party last week. The drawing they made of him and had printed on a cake was really fun. There was one student in the group, however, that Jon did not recognize. She was wishing him well, and finally asked, "You do not know who I am, sir?" Jon couldn't place her, until she revealed her name. He was astonished to realize he was talking with a student he knew very well, because she had taken courses from him every semester for the past three years, but had always been veiled until today. Jon later made inquiries about this interesting development, and discovered this student had recently gotten a government job, where she was not allowed to veil in the workplace. This "de-veiling" at work prompted her to be unveiled elsewhere. Although this wasn't a farewell gesture for her teachers, it was fun to finally see the face behind the niqab. Here is an interesting article about face veils in the workplace.

Camel Milk

We all had our first taste of camel milk. You can click on the images above to see larger and read journaling.

Shwarma is Good Eatin

This our friendly neighborhood shwarma chef. I always get mine with just pickles and "chips" (fries). I once ate my shwarma with the spicy garlic sauce, and I regretted it for a couple days afterwards, as did anyone close enough to smell my breath. You can get a shwarma, which is marinated lamb, beef or chicken that is somehow stuck together on a spick and roasted by a heat source, then cut into thin slices and wrapped in Arabic bread (a pita pocket), for 3 - 5 dirhams, around $1 U.S. Best deal around.

Taping the Groceries

I'm never sure, but I always hope it's a bargain when it's been schlepped together with packing tape. Is it two for one? Is it a mad tapist with too much time on his hands? What I really don't get is the "freebies" taped on to random items, like the box of water bottles above, with boxes of kleenex taped to the sides. I'm thinking maybe a case of merchandise explodes, so to just "get rid of it" - they tape it to the first thing on sight. Sometimes I find 4 to 6 canned good items, like corn or kidney beans, taped together (and this is serious industrial strength tape that requires sharp instruments and complete removal of all paper or labels underneath), then shrink wrapped for good measure. Just something I was thinking about today as I untaped my sugar bags.

Camel Races

We've been curious about the camel races since we moved here, and finally made it to the track last week. It wasn't anything like the "My Fair Lady" horse race scenario that I had privately stashed away in my preconceptions. It was hot, it was dirty, and it was wild. We opted to ignore the grandstand, and watched the race from up close. Not the safest vantage point with a gaggle of kids (we were there with a bunch of other moms and kids) in tow, but fascinating to be sure.

Cultural Barbies

Having an abundance of little girls in our home, we've always had an abundance of dolls as well. These are special Barbies - the girls love the Indian dolls' sarees and long black hair. They are gifts from some great friends of ours that just moved to India and came to Abu Dhabi for a quick trip to do some shopping and to enjoy restaurants and things not available to them in India. We miss them so, and it was wonderful to have a visit.


The Jamila dolls have been in storage for awhile. I am waiting to give them to the girls when we go back to the States, as a special reminder of being in Arabia. I have 3 sets for the big girls - now I want to find a 4th set to put in Hope's things, so she'll have a reminder of the people in whose country she was born. Here is a link to a blogger who commented recently about abayas, that I found interesting.