Language Barriers and Parking Spaces

I was at the school playground for a play date while Colin and his friend were playing. A little boy just a bit older, maybe 4 1/2 joined the boys and they were having a blast. We saw a woman we assumed was his mom. He was not in uniform, but neither were our boys, so we didn't think much of it. When it came time to leave, I noticed that the woman I previously assumed to be his mom was nowhere to be found, so I asked him if his mom was around as we didn't want to leave him alone (not that he seemed to be worried at all, lol.)

He just looked at me. My friend, Rachel, noticing that didn't register and is much more familiar with local custom thought to ask the better question of "Is your mom or maid around? Do you have an adult or person you are with? Do you have a person?" He looked at her quite confidently (not in an older kid snarky kind of way) and said with a straight, somewhat confused face "No, I have a vegetable."

Trying our best to contain our snickers, we looked around and saw two women sitting just beyond a horse statue (see picture).

So, Rachel proceeds to ask, pointing in that direction, "are those your people?" He looked at her like she was a fool and quickly said "No, that's a horse." As if to say 'you silly lady!' At that point we could no longer contain our laughter and how this simple act of making sure this child was attended to had become somewhat of a verbal spar between a small child and a 30-something year old mother. 

We gave it one last shot explaining that we meant the people behind he horse, to which he responded by pointing at his nose injury and saying, "My nose hurts." At that point, knowing that either the child had his own agenda or was just pure and simple not understanding us, we decided to head off knowing that he was in a safe, gated and guarded environment.

We'll just chalk this one up to the language barrier.

For one last good laugh today, I'll share with you what I like to call a 'Duba-irony'. This one being that the majority of cars here are oversized SUVs, on the side of Land Crusiers and Range Rovers, not CRVs and Muranos - yet the parking spaces are made for the hatchback Yaris' that are beloved by many of the 'workers' and car renters like ourselves. That being said, my rental accord is pushing the size limit on these spots. So, on a recent trip to the mall with my friend Beth, I actually had to park, then crawl into the backseat to be able to get out after of course first letting her out before I even pulled in. I apologize if this doesn't sound funny, but just picture me crawling back, over the car seat, then out of the car. Anyway, we found it quite amusing! This picture doesn't even begin to show the severity of how little room there was! I had to do an angle so the driver of the bohemouth vehicle on the other side could at least get in!

Independence Day

No, not the 4th of July, but UAE National Day, December 2, 1971 which according to the almighty Wikipedia is:

"National Day (Arabic: اليوم الوطني;Yawm al watani) is celebrated on December 2 each year in theUnited Arab Emirates. ^[1][2] [3] It marks the UAE's formal nationalisation from the British Protectorate Treaties which ended on December 1, 1971 and the eventual, federal unification of the seven emirates in 1971 which combined to form the modern-day country, headed by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the federation's first president. Grand celebrations are held across the country to mark the event."

In other words, their Independence Day. So how better to mark it than with parades, Guiness World Records, and racing down Jumeirah Brach Road. As an American, I know we love our 4th of July celebrations, but I have NEVER seen anything like this even after living in Washington, D.C.! The real day is tomorrow but the events leading up to it have been nothing short of spectacular. I guess that's what happens when you are "only" 43 years old! 

To make it to all of the events offered on behalf of this holiday would be a world record feat in and of itself! We, sadly, missed the Grand Parade, which showcased the city's greatest (and most famous) police super cars...the Astin Martin, Lamborghinis, etc, which are above and beyond the BMWs and LandCruisers that you see on a day to day basis.

Even the kids schools, which are British and American, celebrated in full fanfare. The elementary school with the traditional face painting, decor, dress code of all green, red, white and black and a full feast of traditional Emarati food. The nursery (pre-school) with the same dress, teachers all dressed in abayas at the main entrance to greet the students, and a gift bag that would rival any Beverly Hills birthday goody bag from a "local" student. 

This weekend, we went to the event that showcased the painting of the Guiness World Record of the longest graffiti scroll. While that may sound dumb, it was sponsored by the Crowne Prince, which we learned after, meant it would be a great event...and it was! The kids got to try their own hand at the art, drank fresh pressed juice from stemmed glasses, tasted local fried dough honey dipped delacies done on spot, and even got some henna. 

Due to an ongoing lack of messaging here, we missed the parade but fully took in the graffiti, lol. I think Patrick and I were the disappointed ones as Colin thinks it's cool just to see the Maseratis and Lamborghinis and didn't know what he was missing from the normal daily drive. Let's just say that I am happy they are so young and don't know that what we drive is crap, nor to complain about it! Colin thinks daddy's white car is just as cool...and it's a rental Yaris...hatchback! Thank goodness for little ones, they put what actually matters into perspective. The house has been a mess but I've been volunteering at Kate's school to help get ready for the Santa's workshop event, so she thinks I'm like an elf....goodness I love kids!!!

What is the funniest is the late night wild stuff we can hear late at night, being 2 blocks from the beach, but only if we are out or have windows open, but for a non-drinking Muslim community, they sound like they can party--and drive super fast! Lol.