The #1 Sport in the U.A.E. is NOT Soccer.......

March 12, 2012

You would think that due to the international popularity of soccer and the fact that there are many local and national teams, soccer would be the #1 sport but it's NOT!  The #1 sport in the U.A.E. is shopping.  Since I have been in Abu Dhabi I have seen and heard about more than 20 malls, souqs, and shopping centers.

Traditionally. souqs were as much meeting places as trading centres; a hotchpotch of sandy alleys crammed with individual stalls interspersed with tea and coffee houses where men would gather to discuss the day’s events over a shisha pipe or cup of tea or gahwa, Arabic coffee. Throughout the country, souqs have been preserved and refurbished carefully so that they retain their traditional charm. (UAEinteract 2012)

There is the Marina Mall, the Abu Dhabi Mall, the Madinat Zayed Shopping Center, Mushrif Mall, Al Wahda Mall, Al Ain Mall, the Dubia Mall, the Gold Souk, Al Ruwais Mall,  the Port Zayed Souk and many many more.





SO on this day, almost up to here (can you picture my hand well over my head) with shopping Irma, Alicia and I set out to GOOF AROUND!  As you will soon see.

 My friends, Irma and Antalicia, enjoying alittle bit of home.





We don't say "CHEESE" here.  We say "ABU DHABI"!  That was Irma's idea!  A stroke of genuis.

 Say "Abu Dhabi", Irma!






Finally, we got paid!! SO we celebrated at the bank!  "Abu Dhabi"

My first glimpse of Abu Dhabi Schools

March 9,2012


I just finished a full week of shadowing an English Medium Teacher at the Al Emam Muslim School in Mussafah, Mohammed bin Zayed City on the mainland of Abu Dhabi.

I shadowed one of the Grade 2 EMT's named Miss Hiba.  The students call their teachers by their "good" or in other words their first name.

The Head of Faculty (HOF) was a wonderful British woman named Sara. 

The Principal is Du Bubba.  She was a gorgeous and gracious Emirate woman who welcomed us with great support and hospitality.  The tradition here is that you begin a gift to your principal and HOF; which we all did.

These are public schools and the wall are adorned with country pride.







All of the schools are air conditioned.





This particular school is all boys from Grade 1 to Grade 5.  Half the teachers are Arabic and the other half are English Medium Teachers.  And yes they have school buses too.








And just like in the USA,  boys drop everything just where they stop.







Most of the school have 2 floors and are divided into wings.  Grade 1-3 is in one wing and Grade 4 & 5 are in another.  There is a courtyard that connects the two and the children have lunch and recess there.





 
 
This is Miss Kelli. She teaches Grade 3 and is very cool.

During the our week at school,  it was also the beginning of the 18 week student teaching session for Arabic teachers.  There were  about 10 of them in the school.  This is Miss Fatima grading spelling tests.  They spend time with the EMT's and the Arabic teachers.









During my week with Miss Hiba and the boys, they began to work on designing dioramas of Animal habitats.  This group had the Arctic.








This group had the Desert.








This group had the Ocean.

And the group below had the Jungle.  They all did a great job.  That is not to say they are angelic.  Far from it.  They poke each other with pencils.  Hit each other.  And during the week they lost recess twice.  But they were wonderful.

The hardest thing will to be learn all of my students names.  In Miss Hiba's classes there were 9 Mohammed's, 6 Sultan's, 4 Ali's and 7 Abdullah's.  Most of them have 5 or 6 names in their full name.  So you might have to go to their 3rd name to make the difference; such as Mohammed Ali, Mohammed Abudullah, or Mohammed Mohammed.

Well hopefully soon I will be showing you pictures of my own classroom.

Just a little home away from home

March 7, 2012

Here is just a small picture diary of all the things you might think I would miss from home.  You would be wrong.  I found them here in the UAE. 

The Big Bus Tour through Pictures - Part 2

March 2,2012

Coldstone Creamery on the Corniche

The Corniche is the beach front in Abu Dhabi.  As I have told you before the beaches are separated into Female only, Family Beaches ( which include married men and women, kid and single women) and then beaches for Bachelor Men.

Family Beach

 






The ladies only and bachelor only beach are on opposite ends of the Corniche.  Most are family beaches.  The Beach pass is $2.70 and a chair rental is $6.80.  A very inexpensive day at the beach!

..

This is the "Boardwalk" portion of the beach.
There is also a sidewalk to stroll on and
a bike path all the way along the 4 mile beachfront.

The view of the Marina Mall across the bay!

The view of the Persian Gulf

The water is this beautiful color and very clean.  You will not find trash allover these beaches.  I was surprise to find that although Westerners are advise to wear modest beach attire, most all of the women were in bikinis.

A tug o war on the beach.  What fun!

 

This is the Yacht Club that sits on the bay between the Corniche and the Marina Mall. OH, so that's why it's call the Marina Mall.  The Yacht Club Marina is there.  I could have had a V-8.

 

 

As we continued our bus tour of Abu Dhabi,  I found it amazing that every so often you would see a huge roadside picutre of the President of the country and Emir of Abu Dhabi.  This is His Highness Sheihk Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.  He took over for his father on November 4, 2004.  The day after the death of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who is know here as the father of the United Arab Emirates. 

These are very where: on the highway, the front of government buildings and on the front of the schools. 

















The main highway in Abu Dhabi which links Dubai and Al Ain is Highway 11 better known to the local population as the Truck Road.  It winds along the coast of the UAE from Dubai to Silain Al Gharbia and connects to the highway that goes to Al Ain in the south. It connects to the East road which follows the southern inlet from the mainland of Abu Dhabi to the island portion of Abu Dhabi.  Along this  road are some amazing sites.

These are the mangroves which sit in the southern inlet of Abu Dhabi.







All along the edge of the East Road are nice parks and rest areas.  Due to the heat and sun there are many of these beautiful picnic structures line the edge of the roadway. There are picnic tables under each of the hedge ringed domes.













There are also these wonderful family parks and bike rides that dot the East Road.  This dolphin fountain was fabulous.

Not all the scenery is all ethereal.  Some is simply functional.


















Then there was the artsy part of the tour.















The UAE Pavilion was constructed for Expo 2010 in Shanghai. It is now in its permanent location at the entrance.


Abu Dhabi Art was held in and around the impressive UAE Pavilion and Manarat Al Saadiyat in Saadiyat Cultural District.

Manarat Al Saadiyat literally means ‘the place of enlightenment’. It is a 15,400 sqm visitor centre, designed to bring the vision of the island to life through the Saadiyat Story.

This resort is located behind the Pavilion on Saadiyat Island.









And then there is the Mina Zayed Terminals at Port Zayed. Mina Zayed is the main gateway for container and general cargo vessels and is named for the former president of the UAE.










All truck traffic orginates here.


















But it is also where are cruise ships dock and where all multi-million dollar yachts are moored.








Finally, there are the Dhows.  They are sailing vessels used by Arabs on the east African, Arabian, and Indian coasts, generally lateen-rigged on two or three masts.   Some are still used for fishing and others are now used for dinner cruises.











I will now finish my tour with the amazing GRAND MOSQUE. I will be visiting rhe mosque next week so for now I will simply leave you with the pictures of this magnificent building and the center of the Islamic faith.