The Post-Dubai Chronicles

We hope this newsletter finds you all well. We finally got to take a vacation with the family to another emirate on the other side of the country. The emirate of Fujairah is on the east coast up north near the border of Oman. They say you can even see Iran from there on a clear day and if you are standing on a mountain and if you have a telescope =) Rich and I did something for the first time while we were there. No, Rich did not make the bed; that really would be something to write home about. Rich went scuba diving and we both went snorkelling. It was really fun once my brain realized that it's okay to put your face in the water and keep your mouth open. Okay, so it doesn't sound very hard, but these complex motor skills have never been my strength. We got to see some really cool fish, some beautiful coral which was part of the oldest reef in Arabia, and a sea turtle. Rich was a natural at scuba diving and he loved it which leads me to predict that our Christmas tree may be littered with regulators and wet suits before too long. Oh, and of course, coal.

Christian had an incredible swimming breakthrough while we were at the resort. He has been a little hesitant about putting his head under during his swimming lessons. The first day we were at the pool, there were a bunch of other kids there jumping into the pool and putting their heads under the water. The power of a kid's peers is really incredible because the next morning when we were at the pool, Christian jumped into the pool by himself and said, "Look, I'm disappeared!" and stuck his head under the water for a few seconds. Now we can't get him to pull his head out of the water. He can hold his breath for 11 seconds, and he likes to look around with the new googles we got him that make him look like a mad scientist. Christian was also excited this last week with the arrival of all of his toys from the States. Our household stuff finally got here, and it was like Christmas morning around here. There were so many "new" toys to play with that I caught Christian a couple of times standing in the middle of the room rocking back and forth trying to decide which toy to play with. Christian is getting really good at singing children's songs. He can sing, "Cantelope, cantelope, baker's man," and "E-I-N-G-O, and Pingu was his name-o", and "Build 'em up, build 'em up, build a fire". He also breaks out into snatches of "I am a Child of God" at the most opportune moments. A vocal prodigy in the making . . .

Henry has made some pretty important breakthroughs of his own. Henry learned how to play peek-a-boo all by himself this week, probably because none of us ever play with him. He also learned how to say uh-oh (probably from his mother) and how to say No! (two guesses who taught him that word). He is becoming very adept at unrolling rolls of toilet paper, pulling shower curtains down upon his head, and he loves to go for walks and look at trees. If he is ever screaming (which of course is like once a year), you can take him outside and let him look at nature and he calms right down. Except when ants bite him. As the picture attests, both boys are becoming very good at using cell phones. Yep, this family is all about communication.

Speaking of communication, please keep your own updates coming. We love to hear how everyone is doing at home.

"One of my tentacles is shorter than the all the other ones."
"I'm H2O intolerant."
"I'm OBNOXIOUS."
Fish on the first day of school, "Nemo"

Posted by Amy & Rich Bangerter at 8:47 PM | Permalink

Happy Ramadan to everyone! As you may or may not know, the holy month of Ramadan is almost over, and I'm not sure how happy it actually has been for everybody involved. I say "everybody involved" because even if you are not Muslim, Ramadan impacts your life in many ways.

During Ramadan Muslims get up at the crack of dawn and have a gigantic breakfast feast before the sun rises, then they fast all day (this includes abstaining from drinking, eating, and smoking) until the sun sets when they then have another gigantic feast called iftar and stay up until 2:00 in the morning. Then, the next day they get up and do it all over again. Ironically enough, Muslims actually GAIN weight during Ramadan more than they lose it.

The people who do lose weight during Ramadan are the non-Muslims living here. Not only are Muslims forbidden to eat or drink or smoke, they are forbidden from seeing other people eat or drink or smoke during daylight hours. This means that all of the eating establishments are closed until sunset, except for a few that cover their windows with black paper so that no one can see inside. At traffic intersections you find all the non-Muslims bent over in their cars pretending they are tuning their radio stations. In reality, they are shoving a bear claw and half a liter of coffee down their gullet or taking a few quick gulps of life-saving water. I've decided that playing the "pregnant woman card" puts a lot less strain on my neck. If I shove a small pillow into my shirt, you can't even tell the difference. Rich has also thought about playing that card, but hasn't had as much success as I have. Instead, he's decided to try the following cover up:

Rich: But officer, I was just trying to adjust my er, uh . . . gas pedal.

(Assuming he speaks English) Officer: You mean that pedal next to the gallon of cashews?

Rich: . . . . The vehicle is actually a hybrid, fuelled by nuts and seeds . . . and your country's high-quality, low-cost petroleum products. (Sheepish smile.)

Officer: Son, you got a driver's license, registration, proof of insurance, your mother's maiden name and bank card PIN?

Rich: Funny story, officer, the guy who sold me these cashew nuts, Hamid--a real card, by the way--said he would only sell food to me during daylight if I gave him my wallet and either of my two children. So, anyway, Hamid's got my driver's license, but he won't be hard to find: just follow the sounds of the yelping Henny . . . .

(Check out http://www.suntimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/basket7st/basket7st1129553554.aspx for a crazy story related to this topic.)

Actually, I have found that public restrooms make ideal place to grab a quick chocolate croissant or gulp down a yogurt drink, as long as you do it with your back to the john.

Ramadan also affects non-Muslims' lives in other ways. These days I stand in front of my classes and listen to my students explain how they were "too hungry to finish the assignment or participate in class." So I respond very truthfully and tell them that I am too hungry to give them a good grade. If it's not one thing, it's another.

Most of the restaurants serve up big iftar buffets for dinner instead of food a la carte, so you have to plan your arrival just right. If you get there ten minutes after the sun has set, your dinner will consist of a few pieces of limp lettuce and twenty-seven fish heads. And regardless of what time you get there, you will have to eat your dinner in a room so thick with cigarette smoke you're not exactly sure if you've just asked your server or another patron to please bring you some over-priced bottled water.

Statistically speaking, there are also more automobile accidents during Ramadan; I can't imagine why: In the morning, the roads are filled with hungry and tired people who haven't had a caffiene or nicotine fix since the night before. At night, particularly just before sunset, the roads are filled with people who are racing home or to the nearest restaurant so that they can eat some food and light up their Marlboro. At times like that it's just best to stay in your home, lock your doors, and go to bed.

On the positive side, all stores have randomly changed their hours, and you never know if a place is open until you get there. It's kind of a pleasant surprise when you find out that they are.

Christian is becoming very anxious for Henry to grow up. This week at dinner while Henry was babbling, Christian turned to him and said, "Don't say na, na, na, Henny -- TALK!" For his part Henry is trying. He can now roar like a lion, and even though his uh-oh is more like uh-uh, it still counts in our book. He also says ooohhhh when something unexpected happens. He has discovered how to express his dislike about something, and is getting quite good at it.

Okay, that's it from our end here. Hope that Halloween preparations are coming along nicely for you all. We hardly realize Halloween is upon us. It's hard to keep track of the holidays in a place where there are no Targets or Walmarts filled with aisles of cheap Halloween candy and Jason masks. We'd love to see some pictures of all of our scary friends and family dressed up as something even scarier.

Movie Quote: It's my new juice tiger; I juice everythin' now. I'm on the new Garth Brooks juice diet."
So I married an Axe Murderer

Posted by Amy & Rich Bangerter at 8:48 PM | Permalink