National Day Celebration in the UAE!!



Some of  my english colleagues!



On our way to the parade! 

Two of my favorite teachers!

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Even the police joined in!



Many of the locals even decorate their vehicles!

Face Painting!!

Two of my students

On December 2nd, the UAE turned 39 years old! It was a huge occassion for people from the UAE. At our school alone, students and teachers prepared for the "BIG DAY" for an entire week!  One day we bussed all 900 students about 1 km away so we could march back to the school while waving flags and chanting! Students piled onto the busses and chanted their Pride in being an 'Emirate".It was insane! In Canada, we would have broken every bus rule possible.  In the UAE......Mafi mushkila! (no problem!!) On the last day of school we had a huge party! Many parents and community members came out for great entertainment (put on by the kids) face painting, henna painting, and many cultural displays!

Trip To Nepal!



Kathmandu



Recently I took atvantage of the Eid Holiday and went on a fantastic trip to Nepal! I traveled with 3 other teachers from Abu Dhabi.  Upon arriving in Nepal, we literally stumbled upon a local tour guide who proceeded to plan our week in Nepal!  We had a full week experiencing everything from a Jungle Safari ride on elephants at the Chitwan National Park, a flight to Nagarkot, sight seeing tour of Bhaktapur and a glimpse of the Himalayans! Although we stayed in a different Hotel each night, Kathmandu was our home base! It was an exciting adventure!  I came back feeling extremely lucky. Nepal is one of the top ten 'poorest' countries in the world. It was hard to comprehend how the people live in Nepal. Kathmandu has over 1 million people living in the city.  The air is so thick with pollution that most of the time we had to keep our faces covered so we could breathe! The city is so chaotic! There is NO order in the way people drive...and I thought the UAE was crazy! (it actually is but in a complete different way!)The streets are full of motorbikes, pedal bikes, trucks, cars, buses, cows, people, kids all going in different directions! It wasn't unusual to see an entire family (up to 4) riding on a single motorbike! Cows are considered sacred in Nepal so watch out!  We were told that you could be sentenced up to two years in prison for killing a cow even if it's an accident! We had hoped to see the Himalayans, however the fog was very thick and we missed out on the view! We visited many temples and haggled over pashminas and other items at the local markets.

Road Trip to Liwa and the Empty Quarter!



The Empty Quarter






Rachel bartering for Turkish Coffee

 



 


My New Friend!




A local bedouin loving visitors.




He reminds me of someone..............!




They were very Proud of their camels!




Bedouin Tents




In a strange way this reminded me of Johansen.



Stuck!

Endless Sand Dunes

Liwa is located about 150 km from Abu Dhabi.  We saw spectacular sand dunes and many scattered villages.   We saw many camels and actually drove by the tracks where they hold camel races. There were no races as it was Friday! Nothing happens on the Holy Day! I can see why they call this part of the country the "Empty Quarter"! We almost made it to Tal Mureb which apparently is a huge dune overlooking a Palace.  We ended up getting lost and then stuck in the sand!  We were rescued by 5 men that happened to drive by in a SUV! There was absolutely NO traffic so Racheal and I were VERY relieved to get the help!  Insha'allah!