There's a marching band in my backyard...

... or to be more precise, the marching band was on the soccer field that's right behind our apartment... and it was 8:45 pm.

We watched the men, all in uniforms like you see on American TV, and decided that instead of buying paint for the bedroom, we'd head out to see what all the fuss was about.

[During Ramadan, quite a few stores are closed during the day, but open much later at night. This includes the post office, which has very convenient opening hours of 9pm - 11pm *sigh*]

We headed out, hit by the heat as we left our air conditioned cocoon. We were dressed pretty casually in jeans and shirts (mine long-sleeved), and weren't expecting to do more than take a quick look around, then leave.

We went up into the empty bleachers, noticing that there were a lot of gold chairs set out in one cordoned-off section, as well as a glassed-in spot right up top. Workers and security guard were wandering around, and the sound crew was attempting to get the sound system working. The field itself was full of balloons, some decorated with the Sheikhs' faces. The marching band sat off to one side, sweating in their heavy uniforms.

We stood and looked at what was going on. Emiratis in white dishdashas shouted orders at different people, pointing and yelling into their cellphones. After about 5 minutes, a large Emirati man approached us from the gold seat section and asked, "Are you happy?" before instructing us on how to get into the gold seat part! We'd stumbled on the opening ceremonies of a two-week long soccer tournament.

We sat on the ornate chairs, alone in the section of about 20 seats, and were surprised by steaming cups of sweet Arabic tea (and speaking of steaming, we were both sweating profusely by this point). We sipped the tea and watched as a young guy in a dishdasha handed out hats and shirts to various workers on the field. Another guy came by to give us coffee, and yet another guy brought out some sweet fried bread things.

We sat there, watching as the organizers ran about, getting everything in order. We still weren't quite sure what the etiquette was for us to be sitting there, but nobody seemed to mind our presence. In fact, another stately Emirati man with a perfectly trimmed beard came up to us with shirts and hats bearing an Abu Dhabi logo (funny thing, he also addressed us first with, "Are you happy?") and tickets for a draw to be held later in the evening.

At one point, the marching band started up again, and some kids in soccer uniforms carrying flags and framed pictures of the Sheikh walked through a balloon arch, followed a line up of men in matching shirts and hats carrying placards. With our limited Arabic skills, we managed to read a few of the signs, which all seemed to correspond to cities or companies from the area. The announcer explained nicely that this was "just practice".

The stands on either side of our gold VIP section started to fill up, kids ran around with confetti-explosives, we got more coffee (the cup is filled while the coffee guy stands there and waits for you to finish, and he keeps refilling the little cup until you tell him to stop), and finally... it seemed things were starting.

The marching band came out in formation onto the field, the real procession of kids and men with placards went through the balloon arch. Behind almost each placard was either a full soccer team, or 3 people, or nobody at all - think of a quasi-Olympic parade, I guess. The band played the national anthem, and a little boy sang a verse of the Koran from behind a podium. Sheikh Hamdan, the ruler of the Western Zone (his palace is in Liwa, across the valley from the hotel we lived in) gave a speech, and everything was cleared away for a small laser light show (on the soccer field, crossing over the marching band that was still standing there). The funny thing about the laser show was that it was rather random: It started with words like "Happy Birthday" and "Happy New Year" flashing, followed by the alphabet, and then a few random shapes. We think it might have just been the demo program from the laser machine.

Finally, the soccer players arrived.

Two teams, one in red and one in white, but all with the number 90 on their jerseys (???) came onto the field, posed for photos and started playing. They were not exactly, um, the most athletic looking people. The older men sitting behind us were actually giggling once the game started.

As each team scored in turn, everyone applauded politely. I leaned over to Ty and asked, "Which team are we supposed to be pulling for?". He just shrugged. During all this, there was a very loud play-by-play (and how the announcer could do that while every person was wearing the same number is beyond me....). Happily, this game only lasted about 20 minutes.

Having sat and sweated there for about 2 hours, we took this as our cue to make a graceful exit. As we walked past the sound engineers, one of them ran up to us and asked us why we were leaving so early. We explained that we had to get up early and needed to get to sleep. He asked us to stay, explaining that the prize draw was coming up soon (he is also the one who explained to us that the match we'd just seen was the UAE World Cup team from 1990, which is why the players were all a bit older than your average soccer player, and that this was the start of a Ramadan soccer tournament, organized by Sheikh Hamdan). Finally, he took Ty's phone number and our tickets and said that he would call us if we won anything.

We returned home, our jeans damp from the heat of the evening, and were relaxing in the living room with a cocktail when... yes, Ty's phone rang! His ticket had been drawn, but we had to come to the field NOW. We both ran out the door, across the parking lot (where a group of teenage boys laughed and clapped for us) and into the stadium again. Ty was handed a bag with a wrapped gift inside, then photographed by a veritable paparazzi, then gently shooed away.

And his prize? A new cellphone -- which is amazing, since his phone is literally falling apart. And it's a nice one too: full colour, camera, video and a million other things that we haven't figured out yet.

We might head back over the next two weeks to see other games.... or just look out our living room windows.

Canada – The Whirlwind Tour- Part 1

Having arrived back in Madinat Zayed after a cram packed holiday in the land of Canuckistan, we began our first few days by swapping out the previous tenant’s furniture (stove, fridge and bed being the most important), and have spent the last week shopping, and installing, repairing and reinstalling. I think we have settled in enough to begin the Canada trip blog in earnest (though we still don’t have a proper bed yet, but are sleeping on a lovely fold down couch that we bought for the spare room for when you all come to visit).

There is a whole lot to write about and it’s going to have to be done in stages.

For all those who have not been there, Canada is a fantastically scenic country, full of character, a distinct culture that is most definitely very Canadian (the stereotypes are more or less true… in that you see them everywhere, if not in each individual Canadian), and cities, towns and hamlets, each boasting a different personality.

I’ll start with the whirlwind tour giving an overall of people and places, and we can make a few specific stops along the way in the next couple days/blogs.  You realise that for each day I could write an entire long entry, including historical facts, scenery, personalities etc… But that might take a year or more so to write. Here is a photo a day(ish)  glance  through the last month and a bit… with some random expanded descriptions here and there.

July 14

We arrived at Toronto airport after a 14 hour flight, and were greeted by the smiling family, Mum Virginia and Al, Virginia’s (Ruth’s) brother. Mum Virginia had donned an African shirt and was waving both South African and Canadian flags. 

We met up at Mum Virginia’s place (after the drive from Toronto to St. Catharine’s during which I discovered the Great Lakes, or one of, skyways – amazing bridges soaring over the lakes – and what Toronto looks like from across the lake… and what Toronto looks like from across the lake where :D ). I tried pierogies for the first time, met V’s sister Ann and her kids (waving from the balcony, “hello uncle Ty”), and this was where we slept for the next 4 nights. Oh and Kelly, one of Virginia’s best friends stopped by for a bit too.

To me Virginia’s family was actually one of the highlights of the trip. The family is a lot of fun to be around… really a great bunch and a laugh a minute if not more… And Mum Virginia is the sweetest person ever.

July 15

I had a happy morning of bacon and egg breakfast. Visited and met more of the family. The plan for the day was to recover from jetlag and eat Macaroni and Cheese, so…

We went to Al’s house where I met Sheila, and three of their four kids.

From there it was on to meet V’s uncle Andy and his wife Dominica at their grand house which overlooks some of the loveliest vineyards in the region.

This was followed by a visit to Ann’s house where I met her husband Dave and learned all about micro-brewed beers and wines in Canada. We also grabbed bikes for the following day.

Of course everyone wanted to feed us at each stop, so we obliged…and then collapsed into bed at Mum Virginia’s that evening.

July 16

We woke early and took a long bicycle ride along the Welland Canal which joins Lake Eerie and Lake Ontario. To understate the size of the great lakes, would be, I believe, to understate Canada (as it would to understate the amount of fresh water everywhere, the sheer size of the country, and the people’s undying love for anything maple, anything beer and anything well remotely Canadian… any shape, size or form… Canadians love being Canadian). The lakes are massive, and a visit to their shores feels like a visit to a rather quiet oceanic beach. But I digress.

The Canal was built as a shipping lane between the lakes as it was felt that the trip down the Niagara river – which also  runs betweens the lakes – and ultimately over the top of Niagara falls was counterproductive to say the least.

We spent the entire day whizzing along on the bikes, stopping to pick raspberries as we went, or to watch as massive cargo ships sank or rose, as they moved through a series of locks (there are eight… we saw three) which cover the 10o or so metre difference in heights between the two lakes. Oh to be cool enough to be outside for hours on end… it was heavenly.

Later that evening we went through to the Strega Cafe (the restaurant that Kelly owns) to enjoy an open mic night and meet up with some of Virginia’s friends from way back when she used to work there.

July 17

This was a day I’d been nervous about and looking forward to as well. Virginia left me with her mum so she could catch up/drink Mojitos with Kelly for the day and so I could really get to know Mum Virginia, and she could get to know me a bit better. A fearsome thing when 3 days into meeting one’s in laws. I think Mum Virginia was as nervous as I was though.

So having rid myself of V (;-p) , we went for a gorgeous drive where I got to see just how beautiful the neighbourhoods in Canada can be, and also just how green (which we found almost overwhelming, but most welcome after so much brown and sand in the UAE). First we headed out to a lovely marina, then to a tree lined 9/11 memorial, which had been supported by one of Mum Virginia’s friends.

This was on the way to Happy Rolph’s which is a petting zoo. Calling it a petting zoo underplays the place quite a bit. The walk there is a walk through thick forest with birds flying everywhere(of course including the famed Canada Geese), with a bright wide open vast lake - Lake Ontario - on one side, and earthy, tree crowded, dark little ponds teeming with life just a little way to the left. The petting zoo is just the full-stop before leaving. They did have llamas which made me very happy.

 

Mum Virginia then drove us through Niagara on the Lake which is probably the prettiest residential area in the world… really. I found the style the houses are built in all over Canada to be lovely. We stopped at one point where a couple were getting married at the Niagara River, to check out Fort Niagara on the American side (which is a massive stone fortress), and Fort George on the Canadian side (which never got much bigger than a courtyard surrounded by sharpened sticks).

We then headed out towards Andy’s house again and stopped to look at the Brock Monument on the way. Again, a lot of history here but I’ll leave you to look that up if you want.

Having lunched at Andy and Dominica’s for a while, I was dropped back in St. Catharines at Kelly’s place with V, where we visited a bit longer and then headed home for the night…

I loved the post boxes in Canada… One of many “as seen on TV” moments for me".

… to be continued.

Ramadan hours...

As it was the first official day of Ramadan, we were a bit curious as to what might be different for us. We went up to Abu Dhabi to run a few errands - bringing no water, food or cigarettes with us (as it is illegal to eat, drink or smoke in public for this month - and yes, your car is "public").

We didn't notice anything different - except for a radio announcement by the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens (who now lives in Dubai) describing what fasting was all about. Once in town, we could see that all the palm trees had been decorated with lights and hanging stars and signs saying "Ramadan Kareem" in Arabic. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be to see the whole town lit up at night. Might it be a bit like, dare I say, Christmas?

We headed to Ikea and had only been there for about 20 minutes when the loudspeakers announced that the store was now closed and would everyone please get to the checkout. The store clerk smiled at us and said, "Ramadan hours". Apparently, Ikea is closed from 3:00pm to 7:00pm.

Being from MZ, we are used to shops being closed in the afternoons (since all the stores here close from 2 to 5 all the time), but we were a bit surprised that, it seems, almost every shopping mall in Abu Dhabi has its own interpretation of "Ramadan hours". Some will close in the afternoon so that they can stay open later, while others close in the morning. I imagine we will have to discover which ones are open at which time by trial and error.

The ironic thing is that the bottle store is open at a more convenient time (for us, anyway), meaning that Ramadan hours make it easier for us to buy alcohol than at other times of the year. We'll have to venture out into the town a few evenings this week, and let you all know what, if anything, is happening in our rockin' little town in the desert.

Ramadan Kareem!

Well, we've been back for just over a week - still waiting for photos to be uploaded so that we can blog about our Canada trip. It isn't that we've been super busy since our return to MZ, but somehow we have no idea where the days have gone.

This weekend will mark the start of Ramadan, which is the month of fasting. It's going to be a rather interesting experience, I think.

As most people know, during Ramadan one cannot eat or drink during daylight hours. One also must "think and act piously". Not everyone does the fast - there are age limits and certain prescriptions for people who are traveling, or pregnant or whatever.

What we've been told to expect is a completely upsidedown life for a month - as, essentially, what might normally happen during the day (meetings, appointments, soccer tournaments) find themselves occurring sometime around midnight. The newspaper has even printed off (in between advertisements for Ramadan hotel deals) a list of suggestions for non-Muslims, including being more patient with people who are fasting and not eating, drinking or smoking in public ourselves. Colleagues who experienced this last year are actually looking forward to some of the evening Iftar parties that might be happening around town -- all you can eat and up all night...

I'll let you know how it goes!

Coming soon...

We're still getting over jetlag -- we'll upload photos and descriptions of our awesome trip to Canada.

Thanks to all who made our whole vacation so memorable and fun!