أشوفكم انشالله

I have a little break in the action, so to speak, as I wait for our last load of laundry to dry so I can pack it up. Our wardrobe is empty, as the drawers and the cabinets, stuff is piled everywhere - whatever clothes escaped the cotton-chewing insects which plagued us as well as souveniers and books and little scraps of memories. Perhaps, looking at all the things in the latter categories, it's better some of our clothes won't make the return trip!

The last couple of days have been full of sweet sendoffs from our friends here. Friends from different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs and situations who all gave us something during our time here. Lessons, support, tips, rides, meals, family, faith, perspectives, a seat in their homes, a place in their lives. We have one more full day in Buraimi, Oman and then it's an early day on Saturday when we'll head to Abu Dhabi and wing our way West.

الله يلوم when we'll be back (God knows), or if, but they have a saying here when you leave, even for the day and it's been used more than a few times the last few days: أشوفكم انشالله, which means, "I'll see you, God willing."

FAIL

One of the things I'll certainly bring home is the big, bubble-wrapped-with-a-bow-and-shiny-paper-present of memories of tourist and expat FAILS we've experienced here and during travels. Now, it's one thing to be inappropriately dressed for the weather in Italy or sporting an offbeat or unique ensemble in Paris. It's another thing entirely to be caught wearing a normal everyday summer outfit here in the desert (outside of the sacred walls of the Hilton - aka buraimi expat oasis), where anonymity and modesty rule the runways of mall fashion.

What this often means for those of us not qualified to wear a full-time abayya (Never have to pick out an outfit! Always appropriate!) or sheila (Never have to do your hair! Not fair!), is that often we end up wearing maternity-looking long shirts over loose-fitting jeans or 1st-grade-sunday-school-teacher-inspired long skirts (yes, ugh, denim...sometimes kahki). Always long sleeves, always long pants. Fashion, my friends, is not something I've conquered here.

So, you have the choice of looking a bit frump (some of my friends with longer time spent in the area have mastered it), or being inappropriate to a degree (some have bucked it - with varying results). Every person has to decide their own levels. I, for example, will sometimes wear a knee-length dress with a sweater in Dubai or I may even just opt for short sleeves with my jeans. This aggression will not stand (in Buraimi), man.

Other expats and visitors have shown notably less caution in their decisions. Sometimes they're uncautions in the style choosing things like gold lamee. Sometimes they're uncautions in choosing things that are revealing like tube tops. Sometimes it's both (Gold? Lamee? Tube Top? Whaaa...? Ooohhhh, she's English...). Always it's a FAIL.

I wish that Miriam (a fellow collector) and I had more concrete examples to bring back with us (you can't always be at the ready with a hulking D90 in the mall), but in Egypt I found a couple of stand outs that will have to tide us over and prod our memories when the summer winds warm back home and the inappropriately dressed come out...

This is a rare sighting - the maleFAIL. Yes, they are often dressed in unsightly manners, but it's much harder to achieve levels of appropriateness-FAIL for men. But this guy...Wraps. It. Up.

Skinny white dude

In no sleeves

SHORT SHORTS!

Guthra

Extra bonus neg for amount of white, hairy leg exposed and possible wedge-picking

This is also a special kind of FAIL. It's the tourist FAIL. Look at this photo and you may notice that, yes, she's dressed in a sort-of-modest manner. Look closer and you'll see the FAIL.

WEARING the belly dancing scarf with coins that jingle while you walk (obviously purchased at souk prior to arrival at monument)

WEARING the matching headpiece (the one that is a woven/beaded skullcap of glitter and coins and comes free with the belly-dancing-scarf because you are a good, good friend of the stall owner who sold you this monstrosity and promised you the "local" price. HINT: Locals don't wear this.)

This post is dedicated to Miriam and all the attempting to be appropriate girls out there. It's also dedicated to Paula, Jenny V. and Jessie V, just in case you needed any help on the true meaning of FAIL!

Inventory

thehardyheyday.blogspot.com

Part of our leaving here is the dreaded...packing. This is a special kind of packing, though, one that falls just out of the difficulty of packing everything (we only have four suitcases) and just past the ease of short trip (WE ONLY HAVE FOUR SUITCASES!). This week, while Jacob labors in his last week of lessons, I volunteered to stay home and finish the detail things to get us ready to go so that our evenings can be spent alternately on time with friends or job searching.

So, in a flash I'm taken back to this time last year, when another frantic pack-a-thon was in progress, but one that involved nearly four years of accumulated stuff, from clothes (yes, I have to admit it, my clothes were in my dresser, my closet, the dining room closet and the guest room/office closet) to inherited furniture, the robot vaccum (bought to clean up after the puppy) to the dog himself - all while a For Sale sign hovered over the front yard like my mom all those times I refused to clean my room for weeks on end.

The rest of the story, as you may know, is that the clothes got packed or thrown out (lots of things thrown out, thank goodness, but what to wear when we get home?), furniture placed in foster care or storage, vaccum junked and dog relocated to mom's house. My sister-in-law and her girlfriends now occupy the little house in Chevy Chase and Jacob and I took up residence in one of several abodes, the last of which being this little flat in Buraimi.

And now we leave.

We'll leave the things I put in the sale/giveaway list: things like pots, pans, dishes, basil plant, coffee maker, ginkgo leaves and all the toy prizes from all those Kinder Suprise Eggs. We'll bring home souveniers, gifts and whatever posessions make the cut...but what else?

Lots of memories...of our trips and experiences, but also lots of friends!

Messr Memories

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We returned from Egypt just this morning on a redeye flight from Alexandria to Sharjah and, after sleeping off a long day, I'm ready to post a preview of pics from our trip. The day started with visiting the only - of seven original - remaining, in tact wonder of the world: The great pyramid of Khufu and ended with a 2:30 am flight from a podunk Egyptian airport on a budget airline. But, we made it safe and sound and much edified and entertained by the time spent.

Jacob and our "friend" Mahmoud (friendship is cheap at Egyptian landmarks - usually about EL1)

Inspecting ancient hyroglyphics - I always wanted to be an archeologist.

Sunset over the Nile from the roof of our hotel in Luxor.

Felucca on the Nile at sunset.

And, the "money shot" of the trip.

Eid Break II

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Thanksgiving turned out to be a wonderful day for us - even so far away from family - more on that later (including pics of the yummy food and fab folks)! I hope it was the same for you.

Right now, Jacob and I are frantically scurrying around to get packed and get out...of here for a little while - on our last great adventure: Egypt.

Oh, you can be sure there will be lots more pics to come!

الحمدلله (Thanks to God)

Halal Turkey
AED 367.33

Cans of pumpkin puree from expat specialty store for traditional pie
AED 182.78

Sweet potatoes for hubby's favorite casserole
AED 0 (they don't exist here)

Fresh cranberries for traditional sauce                                                
AED 0 (they don't exist here)

Having expat friends who now all the tricks of holidays abroad - and who graciously host us in their homes
Priceless

Here's to a Happy Thanksgiving for you, wherever you are, whatever you eat!

Clinically Insane, perhaps...

thehardyheyday.blogspot.com

Talking with my mother-in-law last night, she said something that many of our closest family and friends have (probably) always thought, but never really said, "You guys did a crazy thing, running off with someone you barely even knew." Yeah, we all laughed about it and made offhand comments about running away and making insane choices and all, but none of those ever matched the feeling I percieved last night that spoke to me and said, "No, really. What you did...that whole getting married in six months to a relative stranger (I think you realize that after being married for a little while - how little you know at first) moving abroad for a year...that. Was. C-r-a-z-y. Like, clinically insane."

Maybe someone did look us dead in the eyes and say that, but I don't think we ever heard it. What we did hear were comments like those from a dear friend of Jacob's in respose to Jacob's statement, "I can't just marry her and take her overseas after six months!" Phillip's answer: "Why not?" (Do you know how many times I've silently thanked God for Phillip?!)

Maybe if we had heard it, we might have chickened out or something. But probably not. I guess it's safe now to hear it, since we made it. Our young marriage still has a lot of room to grow and, insh'allah, many years in which to grow, but we have bonded through the fun times and through what we call "marriage boot camp times."

A Buraimi Sunset, surprisingly beautiful this time of year. It's like the sunset of our time here...I'm so deep.

Even though I treasure our adventure-seeking and sojourning around this area of the world, I think my favorite things from this experience include having some humdinger miscommunications and disagreements and getting through them - maybe not always well, but getting through them and learning from them. Knowing that no matter who's fault it was, I still love him and he still loves me. Another thing I treasure is our time together. I know I've said this before, but we have been spending more time the last few days just hanging out with each other and holding hands or reading next to each other. Proximity, man, it's key. That way, when something comes to our minds we can just talk about it. I hope we're able to always cut out some time to just be together. And our collaboration on something so huge - our mutual investment and commitment to a big decision, then seeing it through.

When we left the states, we'd just had a weddding, but I feel like we're coming back with a marriage.

Look how happy - and how clueless! Ha! Jokes on you, selves of 11 months ago! But it all turns out well...

Sous much more...

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I am the luckiest girl in the world.

I have a husband who loves me well and enthusiastically and creatively and thoughtfully.

When he wakes up before me, he always puts away the clean dishes and starts the coffee.

While I'm just down the aisle at the grocery store, he buys me flowers.

Every time I see him whether it's because I was in the other room or out of the apartment all day, he comes up and wraps his arms around me and kisses me.

He works with me through our miscommunications and disagreements so patiently.

And, even though  prior to marraige, I was used to my kitchen being a one-woman show, he has turned out to be the best sous chef I could have ever (not) asked for.

And that's just the start of it...

You belong in a zoo

We celebrated two birthdays this week for wee ones belonging to my small group girls at the Al Ain Zoo, what a treat! It was our first time at the zoo here and we had a blast!

A few shots from the afternoon - we felt like kids again oohing and ahhing at all the animals and crowding around for feeding time in the "African Safari" section - my favorite. When did I stop going to the zoo? It's such a great place!

First off, let's all be honest and admit it - part of the fun is watching the animals and part of the fun is watching the people...

Flamingoes!

Feeding time at the 'African Safari'

"How many kids can get on the see-saw at once?"

Oskar!

And our other birthday boy, Nathaniel, with sis Amelia.

The Taweel and Causeer of it (The Long and Short of it)

The Hardy Heyday

I was followed around and then propositioned at Carrefour (the grocery, essentially) last night.

In the toy section.

By an Arab man who was shopping with his wife and kids who were in the next aisle.

Gross! And I thought these types of come-ons were like urban-gulf-myths!

I called on my Arabic to rebuff him, and then called on some of my friends (mostly girlfriends who have been here longer and experienced this situation before) for a few laughs.

I used to be good at eviscerating crude and inappropriate men, but it's different here, being in this culture - and being a woman, so I've asked a few of my Arab girlfriends, and other girlfriends who have experienced this apparently very common occurance. They unanimously said to loudly proclaim ("so they many hear you") that this was a bad thing (!) and that you were going to go to the police RIGHT NOW and report him ("You say things too loud so you frighten them very much and God shame them")!

I knew I liked these girls for a reason.

Hello there, old friend

It's been a while, hasn't it? Too long, I suppose, but we've been dedicating all our free time to Jacob's internship searching and to doing everything we want to check off the list around here since we have less than a month until we get home!

One of the things that we enjoy here, but don't do often is hit up a spot called Leisure Cafe in Al Ain. It's one of those places that is lazem (necessary) to take friends and family who are visiting. That's why, when Matthew's momma came into town to visit not too long ago, we took the whole crew over there for dinner, sheesha and drinks (ie 'mocktails,' or juice blends, and coffee or tea).

A few pics long overdue:

The Crew

All the girls - before we were one down. Miss you Els!

Jacob pouring some delicious Moroccan Mint Tea - one of the fave things we'll bring back.

Cheers from the Hardys!

Eid Spooky?

There's no such thing as Halloween here, so we didn't really make plans for the evening. Just an afternoon of laundry and internship searching. Miriam and Aaron came over this evening to play cards and we briefly noted the passage of, in Aaron's words, "Eid Spooky."

Then, a text. Leigh had sent us a little Halloween greeting and outside our doors (between M&A's and our apartment), a carved watermelon!

It totally made our evening and we couldn't resist a couple of quick shots...

What did you all and your friends/kids/pets dress as?

Love the One You're With

No, not Jacob. Of course I love him - he's the one I love and the one I'm with (sorry Stephen Stills, I need it both ways - no compromisin' - even if you are one heck of a singer/songwriter). The season, the situation, perhaps. And my sweet husband came up with an original craft idea (two great things in one!) to help me deal with missing things at home like the fall leaves - which his mom has been, according to reports, kicking up for me faithfully.

We stopped at Lulu Hypermarket (the "super" markets at home are the "hyper" markets of the Middle East) and picked up groceries and some really really tacky-looking gold contact paper (where do they use this?) so I could craft some hand-made gingko leaves to adorn our little flat.

So, the Oman autumn has decended for the Hardys...humdul'allah.

Messin' on Messr

After much debate and chasing down of airline offices (do those even exist in the US anymore) due to faulty web programming, we finally have it arranged. In about a month, Jacob and I will embark on our last (for now?) stop on the Mid-East express and stage 7 of the honeymoon: Egypt.

My favorite section in elementary ancient history (ok, and later, too) will open up beyond the toothpick and styro-constructed tombs and pyramids and I can't wait to see it all with the hubby!

Oh, and the other part of this travelogue-blog entry? We'll return the 4th of December, pack it up, make one last stop in the capital city of Abu Dhabi to meet up with the venerable W and his crew at a conference and then hit the Etihad Airways to return home for the holidays.

Dubai it all over again

We had a long weekend and a short break from school, so we took it upon ourselves to make a break from internship searching and Buraimi along with Miriam and Aaron - to Dubai. We had a few "check it off the list" things to do (or attempt to do) and we, of course, hit the bookstores (as always) - because we are big dorks.

One of the attempted checkmarks was the much-talked-about Burj Dubai (now tallest building in the world?) observation deck. CLOSED. Boo. Although signage and gossip seemed to indicate it was open, we tried every which way to get in and had no success. We had to settle for an outside, but close-up view from outside the Dubai Mall.

Which, on the happier side of things put us close to our lunch destination. Mmmmm...CPK. Check (not really on the list, but never a bad idea).

Which, in turn, was right next door to the fanciest chocolatier we've ever seen. Having walked by it several times over the last 8 months, we decided to go in. We were tended by a man in a suit, who insisted we take samples (lavendar dark chocolate ganache with lavendar blooms on it), which he handed us from his be[white]gloved hands, just before telling us the price: 550AED/Kilo, or about $78/pound. Hid shocked (SHOCKED!) face, tried to look thoughtful and considerate before pulling out "must ask husband" excuse and hightailing it out of there. Check.

Later, we drove (yes, drove) to the metro station so we could try out Dubai's first mass-public-transport-operation, which debuted with much fanfare on 9-9-9 at 9:09. Having worked out the kinks of random people pulling emergency stops "just to see what they would do" (since there are no drivers and the whole operation is robot-operated), it was quite impressive, clean and, of course, a cheap thrill for us kids from Buraimi up in the big city. Ha ha. But no, really. Check.

Measuring Comforts

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It has been apparent (though maybe moreso than I thought) to people we met the times that it's been difficult for me to be away from the comforts and familiarities of home - family and friends (obviously), my dog and house and 'hood (obviously), my music (dumb, dumb, DUMB to pack it all up without loading to Jacob's computer, but hey - it is neatly organized and labeled!), my schedule, my activities, my work, my church, my life.

But sometimes, I'm afraid, it has been the unfamiliarity get to me even more than the lack of familiarity...sometimes the fact that measuring cups (Measuring cups! Everyone cooks!) "...do not exist [at Carrefour] (this week)," was too much for me.

Sometimes, as I cried to Jacob once just before our (it should be noted stellar, IwaswrongIwaswrongIwaswrong) trip to Jordan, "...going to another freaking Middle Eastern country is NOT my idea of vacation, ok?" (sniffle sniffle)

Sometimes, when heat nuked my feet and burned through my soles (and soul...oh, the exquisite pain, right?) and beat down on me and oppressed me and seasons did not change and weather did not desist, I cursed the dusty palm trees and their failed coloring. I sniffed contemptuously at the swirling, messy sand that blew and piled like drifts of dirty snow.

Sometimes, donning what I deemed to be unstylish and certainly uncomfortable clothes, I resisted the culture and turned inward to my own little corner wherein I could ruminate on my fashionable friends and variety of shoes that aren't dust-ridden.

But those sometimes have turned up less and less frequently as we've been here longer. And, while I can honestly say that even during those times I'd never make a different decision, I'd never leave before our time and I'd never say I wasn't having a wonderful adventure, I've come to feel something that surprised me a bit: affinity. Appreciation. Familiarity.

The thing is, I do miss my family and friends - most of all and most importantly - and as long as we're away, I will, but I can be home here. I can rejoice in the small triumphs like figuring out how to rig our stove to actually cook at a fairly consistent temperature - and use that to provide things for other people. I can appreciate getting outside and hiking around a Wadi - even dusty and not-as-green-as-I'd-like. I can appreciate that I don't have to make an outfit every single morning (fun as that can be!) - and that I have a husband who still loves me even though I occassionally have to wear a denim skirt (horrors!).

I can appreciate the privelege of helping others adjust to all this (culture shock can be at least disturbed with one simple thing: a VPN that allows access to sites like Hulu so you can watch TV shows from home). I can revel in the teeny tiny baby language steps I'm taking (even when I meet children who speak so perfectly - darn you, native kids!). I can even cherish the moments (this moment brought to you by Skype) of phone-passing amongst family members gathered at Sunday dinner, without thinking too much about being there.

And then, tonight I looked out the window of P's apartment atop the Hilton tonight during small group and watched the day change to dusk, coloring minarettes and small white houses against a clear blue sky, and I thought how beautiful it is here. And then I looked around my other surroundings inside the apartment - the women who are some of the expats and locals who make up my newest group of friends - and I truly realized how beautiful it is here.

I have been provided with everything I need here - and more (even measuring cups!).

Not-so-Top-Gear

It's two months until we leave the Middle East (probably) and pursue the next step in this International MBA quest: work. Internship searches have been the name of the game for all of us (even the non-student spouses), and one of the other students decided to hop a flight to a job fair opportunity. Jacob and I jumped on the early-morning airport drive so we could get out of Buraimi and explore a little more.

We made our coffee and rushed to get ready and down to the car no later than 5:50AM. That's right. Dave needed to be at the airport in Abu Dhabi by 8AM, so we had an early call time. No worries, though, Jacob and I were excited to see all of a Buraimi sunrise and enjoy the sometimes-even-pleasantly-cool weather of a time when sun doesn't dominate the landscape (oh, and did I mention the van has no A/C? We might have voted for 6AM anyway!).

Anyway, we head over to Dave's and, during a routine U-turn which included driving through a bit of sand, (and let me say here, SAND. It's everywhere. It's unavoidable. People drive more on the sand than they do the road since many of the neighborhoods don't even have pavement and the roads are so inconvenient to use that people choose the bumpy, dying-palm-lined shoulders instead!) we...guess...sink. Like sink. Like quicksand at the back tire of our real-wheel drive nine-passenger van. Positives: we've totally both been stuck before and are sure we can get out. Negatives: sand, so not really the same thing as dirt. 5:55.

 So we're thinking, ok. It's six in the morning! No one will be out at six in the morning!

We were wrong, humdulli'allah, and two different groups of guys (henceforth called shebab) walked down the road and tried gallantly to instruct Jacob in Arabic and helped us push. Negatives: No dice. Buried tire deeper. Positives: Arab hospitality, Arabic practice. 6:15.

Call Dave. Tell him we are stuck. Try other friends for help. Begin to wonder how long it would take even a high-powered flatbed truck to pull our large white van out of the sand. Begin to think exactly how funny we look on the side of the road. AT SIX IN THE MORNING!

Yet another group of determined shebab show up and try to reason through the problem, basically deciding we're not going anywhere right now, so we should all at least hang out and laugh about it. Good attitude, but we're still feeling pretty panicked about getting Dave to the airport when Matthew answers phone and heads our way to pick up Dave and take him to the airport. Great! Positives: Problem solved. Negatives: A long, hot day of standing by the car/walking into town in search of a flatbed truck on prayer day flashes before my eyes. 6:25.

New shebab show up on the scene, but this time, familiar greetings are exchanged. Apparently it's our teacher Hussein's friend's brother (of course, right?) and he remembers Dave. Yay! He walks around the vehicle, sizing up the situation and decides he can help. He walks back to his SUV and pulls out what looks to me like a reinforced laundry line with two hooks. One goes on his car, another on the - barely accessible - part of our car that seems to be designed for just this scenario.

I'm like, ok, Oman's Funniest Home Videos, give it a try. I can see where this is going.

Wrong! In about 10 seconds, the van popped up out of the sand and back onto the pavement. Ma'sha'allah! Everyone is duly impressed, we call off Matthew - who returns to bed - and get on the road. 6:39.

After hauling it to Abu Dhabi, Dave arrives at the airport. 8:19.

So good luck on the search Dave!

Who in the World?

It's amazing how much my perspective has opened up in the last few months. I don't mean I've had some political revelation or great change of heart. It's just that, we live in an enormous country and I can't keep up with all the news in our own nation, let alone really get a grip on international situations.

I even considered myself a news junkie and constantly listened to talk radio, mostly NPR and frequently tuned into all-day news stations on TV...at least for background info. But being here and being involved with the lives of people from, literally, all over, things just mean a bit more.

That's why I just want to take a moment and say:

Thank goodness the situation in Indonesia wasn't as bad as last time. An Indonesian girlfriend of mine, June, still has her entire family at home, but they are fine and we will be praying for the other people in their country who struggle to rebuild lives and structures after the recent earthquake.

It is a miracle that a friend of a friend was released from Somalia after being kidnapped from his office in Kenya, where he was working with a French aid/relief agency. Read more about it here.  We will be praying for him, the others captured and freed, and their captors, who are desperate in their situations and surroundings.

Shower the People

Tonight was a fun and special night - the baby shower for the person who graciously encouraged me through frustrations and taught me the Arabic alphabet with such phrases as, "No. Is wow (a letter pronounced as such), not ya. If you confuse again, I will bite you. One more time say wow for ya and I will bite you. Now, read."

All tutoring issues aside (and the fact that she calls me Dth-oo-bah or fat every time she sees me), it was such a sweet night to celebrate Huda and welcome her almost-here-bundle-of-joy-to-be, Saeed, and I got to take photos!

But, even though I now have actual real proof of my Arab-girlfriends, I can't show that proof to you (especially you men - married or single!). Most of the women here are very sensitive about even having pictures taken, not to mention the thought of them being posted on. the. internet. When Huda got her wedding pictures back, we had to sneak them into a side classroom and post a lookout at the door in case a *gasp!* man should walk by.

So, instead, here are a couple of my faves that don't compromise anyone!

This is Blair and Roman on the left (due in two weeks) and Huda and Saeed on the right (due in four).

And Miss Party Planner Ellen's tasty and cute decorations...I'd say they speak for themselves, but the writing on the top two rows of cupcakes is in Arabic. They say (reading from right to left) Mabrook Huda (Blessings or Congratulations Huda).

Falling for...

Have I mentioned it before? The fact that it's hot here? The fact that there seems to be a distinct lack of seasons here? As much as the heat bothered me during the worst of summer, I haven't mind it too much. I'm a warmer-weather person anyway and, compared to coldest-rainiest-winter-in-35-years Morocco, March in Oman and the UAE were a total blessing.

But, hey, March is the time where the weather had better be shaping up anyway, where I come from. So, even though it's been in an extreme way, March through September should be hot. I know I mentioned just the other day how I'd miss my fall walks and trees, but my own memory combined with facebook, blogger and, yes, even Williams-Sonoma, are all collaborating to make me really miss the seasons.

I got an email a couple of weeks ago about Esther's potential Halloween outfits for her pup, everyone and her brother seems to be posting status updates about apple cider and carving pumpkins, my sister-in-law and her roomies are baking up gorgeous squash pizzas in my old house and now, even one of my little internet pleasures - searching Williams-Sonoma - has turned up heartache.

But so what if this year we won't be carving pumpkins and camping and apple-orcharding and roasting perfect turkeys while football blares on in the background...this year we will live in the memories of times past and make a few that we'll keep around during the times when things are "normal" (if there ever again will be such a time!).

Like when Esther (who lived with me for years) would celebrate fall by purchasing tiny gourds to decorate our dinner table come fall.

Or the year in college I had such a ridiculous Halloween costume that people still remember it (oh, the follies of youth).

Long walks in the 'hood with Vitale, MA, Jess and lots of other friends who stopped in.

Mulled cider on the stovetop.

Walking to work at Preston-Osborne or Smiley Pete and collecting leaves or kicking over piles of them.

Saturday mornings at Magees with warming coffee and chitchat.

Halloween parties - and the first year I owned my house and had tricker-treaters.

Thanksgiving with my family - and last year, when I had the privelege of two Thanksgivings.




What are your favorite memories?

Tourist Duty

We have scant few weekends left here (What? So weird!) and so, to make the most of those remaining, we have decided to venture out a bit more into the countries around which we are living. We've spent plenty of time in Oman and the UAE, but there are still a few things we've noticed and of which full advantage have not been taken.

One of those things is "interior Oman," which generally means not Muscat or the UAE border. The country is full of Dunes and Oasis and Wadis (valleys that fill up with water - ripe for swimming and exploring). Another is taking a (totally touristy) safari in the UAE.

We did both of those things during last week's Eid, as well as spending a cultural day in Abu Dhabi at their soon-to-be-finished-twenty-years-in-the-making-Isalmic-cultural-center (it's technically not a mosque because Muslims are instructed to build very practical and plain mosques meant only for worship, and this is not that; however, people do worship here. They also call it an Islamic cultural center so they can admit non-Muslims.).

It was a great couple of days break to act as a buffer between the days of re-settling in our expat lifestyle while simultaneously conducting exercises to get us out (Jacob's job search intensified last week).

Anyway, here are the memories...ah, Kodak (or, actually Sandisk digital image) moments.

Full album here.

Wadi at Sunset. It's so amazing to come across this - palms and mountains

and greenery in the middle of the desert.

Obligatory camel-love shot. C'mon, I know we all rode one at the zoo, aged 8, but in the desert? A must.

Also a must: dune bashing. It's like a roller coaster with no track! Well, maybe a soundtrack, which in our case was alternating Middle Eastern pop and Western R&B/Rap (ie, Apple Bottom Jeans), to which our driver/guide bashed (quite rhythmically) until he made our Danish girl-companions sick.

And the final part of the evening was a "Bedouin-style" dinner at a tented encampment, wherin we enjoyed a pleasant dinner, a belly-dancing show, henna and sheesha (and the locals enjoyed the show of international tourists mooning over desert livestock and the novelty of sitting on the ground for dinner - win win!).

And now, Abu Dhabi. Every time we've driven into the capitol city, we've passed this incredibly-massive-four-minaretted white mosque off the highway. You can't miss it. This time, we actually stopped. Well worth it. The architecture, detail and design of this place is amazing. Even if camels don't do it for you, check out the album to see the rest of the mosque pics. White Grecian heat-absorbing marble (so you can walk around barefoot and not get burned) inlaid with everything from precious stones to colored natural marble to mother of pearl (black and white) in intricate designs. Not to mention the white- and yellow-gold accents all over.

The hallways, which border all four sides, were arched and inlaid and gold-leafed and surrounded by pools.

You might notice some odd posts if you subscribe to thehardyheyday.blogspot.com, or follow us on Facebook.

No worries, these are just the posts of our other blog, Moroccomyworld. Despite it's really awesome name (thanks, Jess!), it's become a bit inactive, so I migrated it to The Hardy Heyday so that all the photos and recipes are still available.

We'll keep posting the adventures here. Stay tuned!

It hasn't happened for the longest time...

I think the last time I really felt like this was probably before I bought my little house in 2005. It's the way I feel right before a big change, a move, a decision. I feel energized and anxious (the good kind) and curious, like a kid at Christmas or a birthday.

The whole world is open to us right now, as we contemplate next steps in our life. We are down to just over two months until we leave the desert lands and middle east and adventures of Africa for our next move.

I can't believe it's been almost a year.

I can't believe it's been nine months since we got married (actually, tomorrow, the 27th).

I can't believe we don't know where we're going (but it's ok...I happen to like surprises!).

Eid Mubarrek!

We've been a bit MIA this past week because of Eid Al Fetr, the holiday following the end of Ramadan, Islam's month of fasting. We were around some and out some (photos of Dubai safari and Abu Dhabi's mosque coming!). The days in were mostly taken up with some housekeeping and continuing Jacob's internship search (where we stop - next - nobody knows!).

It was nice to finish up reviewing our France photos, though and think of our sweet vacation and the short glimpse of fall we got while traveling there. It's amazing that September is almost over. Even an Indian Summer might extend to September, but in the next few days it will be officially fall - one of my favorite seasons (but not here, even thought it will be cooler, Insh'allah).

I'll miss the tea-scented fallen leaves strewn around the tree-lined streets of my neighborhood, especially on Catalpa, where the Gingko leaves turn the street brilliant yellow for a spectacular week. I'll miss the first crispness in the air, clear mornings and jackets (worn because it's cool and not because I have to cover my arms, even in the hundred-plus-degree heat!).

So, here are the photos of Tours, in the Loire Valley. A preview and the album!

A stunning success in culinary quests: the Doner Kebab.

Castles...just like fairy tales!

One of my favorite dinners in France - in Tours - The Smoking Rabbit.Isn't this just like a children's book or something?

Sigh

Provence, though not in its high season (lavender was passed, sunflowers were on their way out), was still a wonderful and relaxing stop during our trip. We stayed in Orange and made sojourns out to Aix-en-Provence, Arles and Avignon. It was beautiful country, and even reminded us a bit of home with the rolling hills, grazing animals and manicured farmlands.

The towns were wonderful, too, full of shops and cafes and markets. Everything was perfect for long walks and long lunches with light cool wines and sighs of contentment.

A few of my favorite shots below, and the web album here!
I love all the menus they have in front of the cafes. I think I photographed just about every one I saw!See? Didn't I say the shopping was great? My adorable husband modeling some French wares in Aix-En-Provence. The Palais de Papas in Avignon, where the Papacy was housed for about 70 years during a time of unrest in Rome. Arles, one of the towns we visited, was home to Cezanne and Van Gogh during many of their (maybe unpopular, but) productive painting years. I loved these horses. There was even a little track that the kids could race them on, and a leaderboard just like Keenelands with chalk lines for the finishes!

Request for photo input!

Ok, so there are about a million pics of Paris, and some of them are duplicates in B&W. If you take a look at photos on my picasa account or on fbook and have a preference on the photos that are B&W vs. color, let me know. I've been staring at them so long it's hard to tell!

La vie en rose

When we arrived in Paris, it was eight in the morning. So, we grabbed our bags and navigated CDG (which looks nothing like it should according to fave HS flick French Kiss...maybe that was the other one?) to the connecting train station where we navigated by, yes, plane, then train, then automobile to our charming little corner-closet-room on the top floor of our boutique hotel. Tres cute.

Me, and all our luggage (since we nearly always travel, like carpetbaggers, with all our belongings!)

We spent a bit of time on the Champs de Mars and Champs-Elysees and planned the sights of our trip, because, of course the Eiffel Tower and famous streets are iconic images of Paris that had to be mentally (and photographically) documented immediately! Plus, cafes...mmm...food. I already mentioned baguettes, brie...there was wine and pain au chocolat and croissants and cafe au lait and duck and butter and...mmmm...

We also saw Versailles (actually pronounced correctly! It's a revelation after living in Kentucky so long! I kept having to tell myself: don't do it, don't say Ver-say-lls!) and Notre Dame and one of my favorite spots: Ile St. Louis, where there was a little band and kids and dogs everywhere and an impromptu "free massage" service all along the bridge and, of course, streets lined with flea-market stalls full of old books and maps and kooky pictures and knick knacks.

A charming little side street.

The band on Ile St. Louis.

The absolute highlight of Paris, though, was the evening that started the week before when a book showed up at my mom's house. It was my birthday hint. A copy of "The Sun Also Rises," Ernest Hemingway's first major novel. On our last evening in Paris we visited the famous restaurant "Les Deux Magots," where Hemingway is said to have completed a large part of the book, for a spectacular dinner and fabulous wine and great atmosphere. We sat at a table on the upper level of the tiered patio and talked, ate drank, imagined and watched the people - and the day - fade away. It was one of Jacob's more notable successes in events (and that's hard to say considering his record!). So thoughtful.

Following Paris, we headed to Provence, but more about that later. Here are all the pics of Paris. Enjoy!