"Sirmam"

I am very accustomed now to being greeted as "mam" or "madam" every where I go. When ever Barry and I go out together the greeting obviously changes to include both of us. But instead of greeting us separately or "Sir and Mam" it is always, and I mean every time slurred together.

Barry and I have to work at refraining giggles when we walk into a restaurant or shop and here;

"Good afternoon sirmam"

"Good evening sirmam"

"Hello sirmam"

"Thank you, come again sirmam"

Traffic Jam in the Mall????

Radio 2, which is basically the expat radio station of the UAE, does a pretty good job of updating the listening audience with road accidents, traffic jams, etc. Today they were talking about a massive traffic jam on the entire first level of the Mall of the Emirates parking garage, which by the way is massive.

Turns out they are testing the new ticket system for parking, all the major malls in Dubai will start charging for parking in September. It's connected with the brand new mass transit system (elevated trains) that will begin operating in Dubai on Sept. 8th. It's a big deal and supposedly will make getting around Dubai way easier.

The mall parking ticket system requires you get your ticket validated while you are in the mall. People were leaving the mall without validated tickets, no place to turn around when they got to the exit, and the gate wouldn't lift without the validation!!

Oh yeah, that one was really thought out!!!

American Restaurants - Middle Eastern style

We have lots of "American" restaurants here in Abu Dhabi. Fuddruckers, McDonald's, Hardee's, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Subway, Gloria Jean's, KFC, Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, Chili's, Basking Robbins, Dunkin Donuts, Benihanna's, and probably a few I am forgetting. A short drive to Dubai and you can have; Taco Bell, Macaroni Grill, Ruby Tuesdays, Johnny Rockets, Tony Roma's, and more.

Each one of them has a "local" twist on how they serve the American menu with inevitably at least one variation on the menu. I am sure this is common around the world with these popular chains. I remember in Ecuador that at Kentucky Fried Chicken, extra crispy or regular came with a side of rice and plantains!

I'm not a big fan of fast food, and I haven't eaten at all of the above but a few things I've noticed.

Starbucks drink menu has many less choices.

McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Hardees, KFC, and yes Dairy Queen delivers!!!!

Subways meats are all turkey or beef products.

Tony Roma's ribs are not baby backs, they are beef short ribs.

The pizza here is not even close, from what I have heard.

Baskin Robbins serves a local saffron icecream that is amazing!

The best has got to be McDonald's grilled chicken wrapped in Arabic flat bread.

A picture is worth a thousand words!!

An Interesting Breakfast!!!

This past Saturday, August 1st 2009, Barry and I headed out early in the morning to take care of some banking business. Afterwards we stopped at a restaurant we had found recently in the neighborhood called Bite Rite. It's very health conscience, with calories, carbs and fat grams listed below every item. All the breads are whole grain and they even have sugar-free deserts. We have been there twice for dinner and saw some interesting things under the breakfast menu so we thought we would give it a try.

Barry ordered the whole wheat french toast with orange sauce and I got some kind of Indian pancake made of brown rice flour with a tomato chutney. And then we each ordered a scrambled egg. I ordered coffee, without milk, which was quite a challenge. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to explain a dairy allergy in a health food restaurant! Barry ordered orange juice and a "glass" of milk.

The french toast and the pancake thingy were both good, not enough sauce on either, but I understand why everything is portion controlled. My coffee and Barry's juice arrives and so far everything is cool. Then we each get a little plate of something white and fluffy, we are informed they are the scrambled eggs, they use only the whites. We are both thinking great and then we taste them. It was almost like grits were mixed in, they had a faint egg taste but a definite texture that didn't belong. As we are trying to figure out what it is the waiter arrives with Barry's milk, steaming hot in a coffee cup! He left and it was all we good to do not to laugh out loud! After all, he didn't specify cold! We asked about the eggs, only whites and skim milk we were assured. I guess they forgot about my dairy allergy! Yes, I was miserable later.

We decided two things as we drove away. One; it's a good place for dinner not breakfast, and two; it was probably powdered egg whites thus the texture!

Hopefully a Perfect Fit!

This past Friday afternoon, July 31st 2009 I finally dragged Barry to the men's tailor

a friend recommended. I had been once with a favorite shirt of his and some fabric to

have another one made "same-same". It came out okay but the issues with it were

mostly all to do with the fabric we had selected.

I had been wanting to take him there to be fit for a suit for there are no stores here we can go in and purchase one for him in is size. As Barry says, I live in the land of Lilliputians where all the clothes are made for them! He picked out a lovely light weight dark grey wool and Barry him started conversing. He was right at ease by seeing the finished suits in the shop awaiting final fittings. The tailor asked Barry all the right questions and the only time they struggled in their communications was when Barry asked the pants to have a cuff. The tailor said, "You want turn up? Inside or outside?" After we worked through that we left with the promise of a final fitting in "after four days". So this Friday after church and lunch we will stop back in and hopefully have a perfect fit!

Language on the Mind!

I am still was working with "my little angel'. He has recently turned six and continues to make remarkable progress. He is reading, writing well, and really communicating! We have gone from one word answers or nothing at all to I can't get him to be quiet! Along with all the chatter is quite the sense of humor, also.

This past Monday, August 3rd 2009, we were playing chutes and ladders and he was talking really funny. His eight year old sister was playing with us and she kept making comments about the way he was talking. Finally she said, "Why do you have an accent?"

He answered, "I'm speaking French today!"

Today (on Wednesday), we were working on handwriting and as he was writing I was finishing up a note to his father. It was in cursive and Hussein noticed his name. He asked me why I wrote his name like that and told me it was wrong. I explained it was written in cursive and his reply was; "Miss Pattie, please write my name in English!"

Sadiyat Island Display

Next to the "island" part of Abu Dhabi, which the main city part of the Emirate is, are three islands that are under development. Sadiyat, Al Reem, and Yas Islands. Each island will have malls, hotels, commercial, and residential properties, etc. Yas Island is the "fun" island, it will be the home of Ferrari World opening in 2010. The world's largest indoor amusement park, housing over 20 rides including the worlds fastest roller coaster. Eventually there will be a water park and a Warner's Bros. Park, but those are on hold for now. Al Reem Island is where Barry works on Sorbonne University, it will mostly be the above mentioned.

The third island, Sadiyat, is the one that is getting much attention. It will be the cultural island, with a focus on museums, parks, and pavilions. Here's a peak below of what it will look like.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi, scheduled for 2014 right now. The ceiling is a pattern of holes that will look different through out the day and the months as the sun and earth moves. It will light up at night and be a future landmark for Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Center. There is also a Sheikh Zayed Natonal Museum planned, I have no picture of it.

The Maritime Museum.

The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, I believe slated for 2013.

At the tip of the island, the other big future landmark.

Now look back at the first picture, top left. You can see how all the museums will be clustered near one another, in walking distance. It will be interesting to see if it all happens as planned. This entire display is on exhibit at the Emirates Palace Hotel.

What's Your Bread and Butter Pickle?

For the 4th of July I made real southern potato salad. Just potatoes, onions, mayo, and

bread & butter pickles. I will confess I love hard boiled eggs in my potato salad, many recipes include them, but the yolks of the eggs here are very orange and it would not have been very appealing to the eye. It's the pickles though that make the salad so yummy. I prefer to pour the pickle juice into the mayo and whisk it before adding to the potatoes, which need to still be a touch warm to get the right "mushiness" to make in my opinion perfect potato salad.

Unfortunately bread and butter pickles are not readily available at the stores here. In fact, our first few months here I searched high and low in all of Abu Dhabi and they are simply not an available option! Dill pickles and sweet gherkins, yes. All sorts of Indian and Middle Eastern pickles, just no bread & butter pickles! So when I was home in January I bought a jar, wrapped it in bubble wrap, placed it inside a Ziploc, and tucked away in a safe place in the center of my suitcase. I figured when I arrived home I would either have a jar of pickles or a suitcase full of clothes that smelled like them! Luckily, it was the former. The pickles then went into the cupboard awaiting the perfect occasion that was special enough to warrant breaking the seal of my one and only jar of bread & butter pickles.

As I was preparing the salad and opened the jar nibbling on a few and then later sampling the salad to check on if the salt and pepper levels were correct I was flooded with a happy feeling. Isn't that what "comfort" food is. Those special recipes only a Grandma makes for you as a child, and then later in life as you make them you think of that Grandma. The foods that you only have on a certain holiday or if the weather is just the right temperature. A specific food that reminds you of a loved one or of a special event. Certain foods are interconnected with memories, be they good or bad. I still can't eat strawberry yogurt to this day because of morning sickness with my son! Bread and Butter pickles take me all the way back to my childhood when my dad had a large garden and my mom would can her own pickles.

Each of us have our special list of "comfort" foods, those special items that are tangled

with our own personal memory. Living as an expat just makes some of those comfort foods that much more special since many times the ingredients are very hard to come by.

Independence Day!!

Early in the day on July 4th 2007 Barry and I got on a plane in Charlotte, NC. After two lay overs and twenty two hours later we arrived in Abu Dhabi on July 5th to begin our adventure together. Barry had been here for a few months working and I had made a short visit while he was still in an hotel in May, but this was our official start as a couple in our new apartment. Basically we missed the 4th of July as we flew to the other side of the globe.

So this July 4th was not only our first here, but marked the last day of our first year here in Abu Dhabi. We celebrated it with friends who were still in the country since so many, especially the spouses leave for the summer. We had an "indoor" cook-out, since it was at least 120 degrees outside! Burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, deviled eggs, and a few other goodies. And for desert cupcakes!

We co-hosted the party with friends because our place is so small. I had so much fun for a few hours in her kitchen as we finished all the final touches! We had planned to ice the cupcakes red, white, and blue and then line them up like a flag. At the last moment, as we were deciding to put the flag on a cardboard "platter" covered in foil, I thought why not cut it like the U.S. With thanks to her hubby I got the size of Alaska correct!

The Future Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi

On a Wednesday in late June a friend and I, along with two of her children, went to see the Louvre Exhibit here in Abu Dhabi. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is to be built on Sadiyat Island and open in 2013. This exhibit is the founding pieces that will establish the museum. They are on display at the Emirates Palace for twelve weeks and then go into storage, not to be seen again until the museum opens.

It was a fascinating tour with a excellent french guide who spoke about each piece it's place in art and why it was chosen for the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The 29 pieces spanned from 520 BC to the Twentieth Century, reaching across many cultures and religions.

It was definitely something I will remember for quite sometime,

one of the "your grandmother got to...." stories!

My Third Silk Painting

I just finished my third painting on silk and had it framed. It was so much fun because I designed it myself instead of taking the design from a book as in my first two.

Proverbs 3:5-6 is my life verse and has a special place in my heart.

In my office when I worked at United Faith as the Preschool Director and Church Nursery Director I painted this verse on my light blue walls in lavender curly letters as a border.

When we moved to New York I decorated my half bath in a black and white

"Paris" theme with the verse as a border translated into french.

When we settled into our apartment I thought about painting it on a wall translated into Arabic, but hesitated wanting to be sure it would be okay and also not offensive if we had Muslims in our home. Then I started painting on silk and thought how great it would be to take it with me some day as a memory of living here in Abu Dhabi.

Now all I have to do is get it hung on these plaster walls!

I have been assured from several sources that being from the Old Testament it is not offensive.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says; "Trust in the Lord with all our heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and He will direct your path."

Arabic uses a lot less words than we do in English but the meaning is there.

Above and below are some close-ups of the detail work around the verse.

I can't begin to tell you how long it took, I do know I put in at least thirty hours!

Souk Madinat Jumeirah

During the last weekend in May we headed back to Dubai for the second week in a row (for Barry, third for me), for another three-day weekend. We stopped at the Emirates mall for Barry to see Ski Dubai, pictures in an older blog.

After settling in to our hotel that first evening we headed out to Souk Madinat Jumeirah.

It's a huge shopping center that has the feel of an old Arbian Souk with winding hallways and lots of dark wood features. It sits along man made waterways that intertwine with several hotels and three villa complexes, totaling well over 3,000 residences. At one end of the waterways sits the amazing Burj Al Arab. The five-star, suite only, landmark hotel in Dubai. It is shaped as a sail of an old Arabian dhow (fishing boat).

Twenty plus Abra's (boats) are running at any given moment allowing the three hotels guests and villa residents to get to the Souk which is also the home of at lest a dozen restaurants and a five hundred seat theatre. There is also an Abra tour for those who want to see the lovely waterways and are hot residents or guests. We took the twenty minute boat ride as the sunset!

The main reason we chose this location for dinner was we had tickets for the current show.

We saw "UMOJA", which was a South African show taking a peak into the history of

their music. It was fabulous!!! It started with drums and the music of

many generations ago and then moved forward.

I loved how they featured the major part gospel music played in shaping their music.

"UMOJA" meant the spirit of love and unity.

It was an excellent production, as good as anything I've seen on Broadway, and would recommend highly. The theatre hosts different shows throughout the year.

My Husband Survived the World's Largest Mall!

During our first trip (as a couple) to Dubai the first thing we did when we arrived Thursday mid morning (3rd weekend in May) was go to the newly opened Dubai mall. Other than two trips on the outskirts of town to inspect a cement factory this was Barry's first official trip to Dubai.

With more than 1,200 retail shops Dubai Mall is considered the world's largest mall. When it is complete in 2010 it will have approx. 1,500 shops!

The mall includes an Olympic-size ice rink, an indoor gold souk, an aquarium and underwater zoo, cinemas (not quite open), fashion avenue, and Dubai's only indoor-outdoor streetscape with a retractable roof! This area was called The Grove and it was unique, cobbled walkways, cafes, and lots of outdoor and sporting good stores.

Malls in the U.A.E. are not just about shopping, they are places where people go for entertainment and to socialize.

This set of waterfalls sat beside a three story set of escalators and was simply stunning!

The structure ran from ground level to the 3rd floor.

The aquarium boasts the largest viewing panel on earth, with a shark feeding twice daily.

For a small fee you can enter clear glass tunnel and then go upstairs to the underwater Zoo.

The tunnel (in the middle of the main aquarium) is amazing. Lots of sharks and stingrays.

The view below was directly over our heads! It is considered the largest clear glass tunnel of it's type in the world.

Barry up close with a stingray.

In the "zoo' area there were lots of open and wall tanks. The sea otters were great!

Barry taking a peak "inside" a tank!

Me with a great backdrop of penguins.

This picture is in memory of my sweet daddy who adored penguins.

After the Aquarium it was time to wander the mall. They have a Kinokuniya Bookstore

which was amazing. They are worldwide (a few in the U.S.) and if you love bookstores

and ever have the opportunity to go in one, don't miss it! It was the size of a

department store and after two hours and only half way through our brains were done

and decided to save the rest for another trip!

Through out the mall there was random entertainment. We never knew when we would see it and it was all different genres. Below a New Orleans flavored Jazz band wandered by!

Did I mention fashion avenue? With over 70 flagship luxury brand stores and a dedicated fashion catwalk to unveil the latest designs from leading fashion houses!

That's just a peak on the inside, now let me tell you about the outside. When you step outside on the ground level in the back of the mall there is a man made lake. Across the water (pretty stone bridge walkway) is Sok Al Bahar. Pricey boutique type stores set among over thirty restaurants and cafes. You can go for the food, but the main reason is the view. It all sits at the base of the almost complete Burj Dubai. The world's tallest building.

We were too close to get the entire vertical view in one shot. It was twice as tall as anything near by, and none of those were small buildings by any means!

We sat in a cafe and enjoyed the quiet view as we waited for the fountains to begin the evening shows. "The Singing Fountains", largest in the world surpassing the Bellagio in Las Vegas just opened two weeks ago. The shows start at 6pm every evening and play on the hour until midnight with each show, set to music, longer than the one before.

It was breathtaking!

Barry and I at the fountains enjoying a latte!

At this point we had been at the Dubai mall for eight hours and had seen maybe half of it! We headed off to another area of Dubai to check into our hotel and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

My husband can now say; "I survived the world's mall, and lived to tell about it!"

And he has even admitted that he would go back!

Dubai x 3!

In May (2009) I ended up spending three weekends in a row in Dubai! I didn't plan it that way, it just evolved. The second weekend in May the wives from our small group at ECC went on a long planned "girls only" get-away in Dubai. Most of the expat wives (especially from U.S., Canada, U.K., and South Africa) head back to their home country for the summer. So this was a fun hang out and chill time before so many go their different directions.

Mattie, myself, and Katie. These are two women I hang around a lot with.

At Johnny Rockets at Marina Walk on Friday afternoon for lunch.

From the left: Rebecca, Julene, Krista, Marty, Myself, Jean, Mattie, Mary, and Katie.

Dinner Friday night at Japengas at Madinat Jumeirah.

An open air Japenese restaurant on the water's edge.

The third weekend in May, Barry took off Thursday so we would have a three day weekend (remember our weekends are Friday and Saturday). We had planned a weekend in the opposite direction of Dubai with another family. Unfortunately, they had to cancel at the last moment and we rescheduled it for the fall. Even though we already had a planned trip to Dubai (just Barry and I) the following weekend, we had the time and barry had not been to Dubai yet so off we went!

We road the Abra (water taxis) across the Dubai creek in "Old Dubai". It was fun showing Barry around since I had been there with my mom. You can see more pictures of this area on an older post labeled, Old Dubai.

Barry and I also stayed at the same hotel my mom on I did. The Crowne Plaza at Festival City in Dubai. It was so lovely, with an incredible pool on the fifth floor of the hotel which jutted out and over looked the Dubai creek. I took a picture of the room to show off the bathroom. All glass walls, with electric blinds and a frosted glass door for privacy. Speakers in the bathroom and a television that turned and I could see a movie from my nightly bubble bath!!!!

Mural Painting In Abu Dhabi

After being in Abu Dhabi nine months an opportunity opened up for me to start mural painting again. I did it for seven years (here and there) in Charlotte, NC. When we moved to New York in June of 2007 I was hoping to start doing it more, but the doors never really opened.

Here, I have been blessed for them to fly wide open. My first client was in a large villa and included three rooms. A play room (garden themed) and two children's bedrooms, the solar system, and the ocean. Enjoy the pictures below.

The playroom got little garden "features" through out. Lots of bugs!

All the rooms is this villa have a very realistic look in the murals.

There's even a few snails on the rock.

A monarch butterfly.

The tree: A snake in the left side branches, a momma bird with her babies in the nest, a lizard crawling up the trunk, ants at the bottom left base, and a snail on the right.

Over 25 bugs in the room, plus bumblebees and dragonflies.

This little frog below is my favorite thing in the room.

The first bedroom I painted had the theme of outer space. It was two walls opposite of each other. One ahead of you as walk in the room, the other behind you.

The solar system.

Close up of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Earth.

Close up of a galaxy, this one has a special view from the bottom bunk!

Wall 2, a view of earth from outer space.

A little closer look.

Space shuttle and various other space stuff!

Room three: Under the sea!! This room was three walls total.

This was a very unique room because it incorporated rub on transfers along with painting.

The entire background is painted and most of the larger items, although the sea turtle is a transfer. I painted under and over the transfers so they wouldn't appear to be "floating".

Wall 1: On the left as you walk in with a door to the bathroom at the end.

The stingray was a lot of fun to paint, and so were the caves.

The small fish are transfers the jellyfish I painted.

Close up.

The smaller anemones are transfers along with the clown fish, the large one I painted.

The "flying fish" are between the stingray and the jellyfish.

Wall 2: On the far side of the room. Eventually there will be bunk beds in this room also.

The whale shark below.

An arabian dhow (fishing boat).

A school of silvery fish.

This momma octopus and her toddlers are the most "whimsical" I got throughout all rooms. They are hiding behind the bed and will one day get a special view from the bottom bunk.

Overall, it was a fun job with hopefully more to come!!!!