Cat Shadows

Ruwais is a town with many feral cats. You hear them yowling all of the time, you see them tipping over trash cans and, I've suspected, one ripped a hole in our screen door. Don't get me wrong, I like cats better than dogs for the most part, but they're everywhere. 

Our villa came without the general maintenance usually done before a new family moves in. It's an old house, built sometime in the 80's, and has had many families before ours. Because of this we are used to issues with the water, paint peeling off of the walls and a very difficult to manage screen and door to the back patio.

When a gash appeared in the bottom corner of the screen we knew we'd have to be careful when it was in place or the cats would waltz right in the house in search of food. (Yes, they do.) Then, the difficult-to-manage door quit functioning: it would close almost all the way, but left a 3-4 inch gap. So we closed it and the screen as much as possible when getting the downstairs ready for the night.

This particular night, Ben went to bed early because he wasn't feeling well, and as soon as he and the kids were fast asleep I looked out the bedroom door and a shadow slinked from the stairs towards the rooms... A cat! I screamed at it and it zipped back downstairs and squeezed out the door before I could get down there. I put a cookie sheet between the screen and the door to block the hole, shut the downstairs doors and hoped that would block the crazy creatures.

Maintenance takes a while to get around to anything, so for now a baby gate between the screen and the door closes the hole and all the downstairs doors closed contains it.

In Guatemala the constant dogs and firecrackers were sleep hazards and here, it's the cats! Hopefully, now, they'll stay outside sleep hazards.

Winter Break and the Best Part of Ruwais

The best part of living in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi is the relationships you get to build with the people. There aren't a lot of things to do unless you create them: the park, the beach, the mall or recreation center are just places that serve for meeting people. There is a wide variety of nationalities represented in this place. So, for winter break, we had the opportunity to spend time with some of these people that make this place special.

Life in Abu Dhabi has consistently been made better by Filipino friends.

Taking a break at the beach with American friends.

Spending time with our friends as a complete family is challenging during the normal work week, so having a chance to visit during this more relaxed time has been really nice. We got together with our friends from the UK and Holland as well, but it was so much fun that I only have this picture, snapped by a friend as I was playing darts. (I won! It was luck. My method is simple: chunk the dart at the target and hope it hits!)

Ezra helping me play darts...

We've enjoyed having time to get to know our Nigerian neighbor better as well. She was a hairdresser in Nigeria and she asked if she could do Talia's hair one day. Talia had fun with it! She has taught us a few words in Yoruba and helped us learn more about her home countries food and custom

Our Nigerian friend fixed Talia's hair for Winter break.

As many of the people we began our desert journey with are ending their contracts and planning to move on, it is nice to touch base again with the friends we have together in this particular moment before everyone scatters again. This particular mix of people will probably never be together, even on the same continent, again. This is part of living the expat teacher life that is surprising sometimes, (like when you DO end up with someone you knew from a different continent together again on a completely new one) sad sometimes (It's always hard to leave/watch leave) and inspiring you to seize the moment every time.

Seen in Abu Dhabi 25

A camel traffic jam on the way from Ben's work. The handlers finally got them off of the road by luring them with a piece of bread.

Ezra's Birth Story

April 23, 2014

I woke up to my water breaking around 4:30 a.m. and as soon as I was sure... which only took about a minute, (there was a LOT,) I woke up Ben, who excitedly got up and took a shower. I wasn't having many contractions yet, and was surprised to have things happen in this order. With Elias, I went into labor and my water didn't break until just a little while before the pushing stage. Because of that, we had decided before to go to the hospital when my water broke, but, now I wasn't so sure. I got dressed while Ben was getting ready and called our friend to let her know (thank God for friends you can trust with your kids when you go into labor.) We decided to go ahead and take the kids and then go to the hospital and get through all of the paperwork.

The timing was perfect, Ben's alarm was set to get up and go to work just a few minutes after my water broke, if it had broken any later, he'd have probably been gone and had to drive back. It was a good day for him to be off, and happened where he was able to be with me three days and get the weekend in the middle of that as well. It was good timing for the kids to go to someone's house at the beginning of the day where they could go back to bed and everyone start on a sort of normal schedule. Our friend's car was in the shop at this time also, so not being in an emergency to get the kids there before going to the hospital was a blessing.

At the hospital there were so many ways I could see answered prayers. There were a million little ways every decision could have gone a completely different way and I could have been forced into something like induction, Cesarian, shots or other medications, and it didn't happen. I was able to refuse everything and sign waivers, not really what you want to deal with in labor, but much better than having no choice. The more nervous midwife who was having trouble letting me walk around and labor in peace went off shift and was replaced with a much more relaxed one. The doctors left me alone to labor for the most part except for a few instances and I was able to do it within the hospital's 6-12 hour policy for after water breaks. (Elias' labor was much longer than 6 hours, Ezra's was almost 6 exactly.)

Ezra was born at 10:45 a.m. and was 7 lbs, 12 oz and 19 inches long.

We practiced nursing all evening and he did really well… and apparently had at least 3 diaper’s full of green goo to show for it. I didn’t have the intense shaking like after Elias, just a little bit. The next day the pediatrician said Ezra was OK to go. The doctor released me as well, so 24 hours after delivering him, we were leaving. (The nurses acted surprised by that, but I’m not sure why.) I just know I felt like I was escaping jail as I left and the relief of not having anything else to refuse was intense. Recovery has been much easier than with either of my other births, and I'm so thankful for that.

So, now I have had a medicated, vaginal hospital birth with Talia, a natural homebirth with Elias and an unmedicated, vaginal hospital birth with Ezra. If given the choice, I would choose a homebirth again without hesitation. I’m thankful that this one went as well as it did and I'm so thankful for many answered prayers.   

Ezra is healthily beautiful and tiny (after being with Elias) and full of grins and cute noises.We're so happy to welcome him to our family!

Making Popsicles

As the temperature has started creeping up again, we've been enjoying making popsicles.

They're pretty simple: We started with two ripe bananas.

Added a cup of plain yogurt.

And some blueberries that we found for a decent price at the mall, YAY!

Poured it into some (sorta small) silicone molds and froze it.

Elias was apparently paying close attention because when those were gone he tried to make his own before I found him in the kitchen with the hot cocoa mix (left from introducing "winter" traditions)  trying to make chocolate popsicles:

We did make chocolate ones, with the same ingredients plus the addition of two tablespoons of this drinking chocolate mixture. It's probably better this way than as hot chocolate in this weather, after all.

Seen in Abu Dhabi 24: Camels in the Western Region

Ben had a chance to visit one of his student's camel training sessions for races. The visit included a nice tea break in the tent and some good memories from the Western Region.

Seen in Abu Dhabi: 22

A grape the size of a small plum. I couldn't find a label to tell where it was grown...

Figuring out Transportation and Community in Ruwais

One of the hardest parts of moving every year or so is the adjustment to the loss of community and the need to rebuild it. This is easier in some places than in others. Abu Dhabi city had several easy transportation options: many taxis, buses, lots of things within walking distance.

Ruwais is different. Taxis are supposedly available, but the one time I called one he said he'd be here in 40 minutes and after 2 hours passed he said he'd be here in 15 minutes and after a few missed calls and another hour said he was lost and gave up. We will have to see if calling the main number gives better results next time. There are buses, but I still need to figure out where to get a map for them or figure out a good time to drag everyone out when Ben's available to see if I can get a driver's license. There are a few things within walking distance: park, little market and a recreation center; but mostly there are millions of villas that look identical to each other all tacked together in rows and rows of neighborhoods. Very few of the women I've met, (and I don't see many out during the day,)  have spoken English, except for the Filipino cashier at the market... so, we're still figuring out the whole community thing at the moment.

When a good friend visited from the States, we took the opportunity to get registered at the hospital (in case of an emergency so we don't have to fill out all of the paperwork before getting treatment) here and check out the beach a short drive away, since she could drive with a U.S. license as a tourist, but I can't legally as a resident.

Some issues this presents at the moment is a difficulty getting to the hospital if I were in labor, and a lack of people to leave the children with. Since Ben works an hour away, I should be able to labor pretty well at home until the last minute to avoid interventions at the hospital and give him time to get here.

Being here a month has brought up things like these that we are still figuring out. There's always a new type of challenge, everywhere we move.

Wind/Sand/Rain/Hail Storm in the Western Region

Yesterday a really strong sandstorm had Ben's bus pulled over on the side of the road a few times on the way home from super-strong winds and super-low visibility. The wind was strong enough to blow sand in between the doors of the bus. They managed to outrun it for a little bit and then it overtook them again. He finally made it home an hour later than usual. Being a bus driver in these conditions must be really stressful!

Later that night very strong winds blew into Ruwais and following the sand storm was crazy rain and really strong lightning and thunder! I was surprised to hear hail following. Our electricity went out for a few hours, and this woke me up and I laid there remembering how Guatemala often had these drippy sounds running in the background of daily life during the rainy season.

Today it has continued to rain, at a much calmer pace and without as much wind, all day, but the destruction (mostly to the vegetation) from last night's wind is still visible.

Moving from Abu Dhabi to Ruwais

Living in the bustling city of Abu Dhabi with around 200 nationalities surrounding us, the many different versions of English seem to be the default language. With less of an opportunity to learn Arabic and a thriving desire to do so, Ben looked around and spied a place away from the city... out in the western region... near camel farms and the desert version of country life, where most of the students and fellow teachers don't speak much English and found a place where he could probably learn Arabic with more immersion: Al Sila'a.

Nature colors Mix at the Port of Dalma Near Ruwais

We will be living about an hour from there in the community of Ruwais. (pronounced: "Roo-wayse") It is about two hours from Abu Dhabi. In the 1970-80's the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company built compounds in several areas with shopping areas, gyms, grocery stores, houses, parks, schools and hospitals within a 6km block. We are supposed to be placed in a villa inside one of these, which means all of the amenities like gym and beach passes, are free. Ruwais seems to have everything I liked about Abu Dhabi, and not the things I didn't, plus some extras like a free gym and more families with children. We will be able to visit Abu Dhabi once or twice a month, but, as with any move, I will still miss so many of our friends who live here.

Here are a few Facebook photo albums of Ruwais if you're interested in more pictures:
https://www.facebook.com/ruwais.pulse

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.583105298389709.1073741838.578389815527924&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.358156627611563.116106.358092837617942&type=1

http://ruwais.ae/

Ruwais Pulse 

I hope to learn about it first-hand soon and share my own pictures and experiences.