Mom's Visit So Far

Alright, so Mom arrived on Sunday evening, and it's been a pretty cool visit so far.

After only a few days, she's already been to the camel racetrack, watching a herd of camels being herded by SUVs.

She's toured the new Tilal hotel (and had supper there).

Najat is one of my favourite teachers.... I'm rocking my Emirati kandura in this photo...

She got a special breakfast from my teachers (2 kinds of foule, falafel, hummus and bread). She helped us host a wine and cheese (and she even cleaned up afterwards!).

An awesome group shot of some of the teachers in front of my school. The one in the purple, on the far right, is Gharam, who I've been working with for a year. The lady who is completely covered in black is Mira, the Principal. Aziza, another of my wonderful English teachers, is standing just in front of the principal, also wearing black. You can see my Mom poking her head out on the left.

And last night, she and I got to hang out at my principal's "farm" (like Bedouin tents in the desert, with sheep and camels and stuff).

A very friendly camel!!

Today, we are off to Dubai for a few days.... with more photos to come!

Where have we been?

I know, I know... we've been bad bloggers. But really -- it's been a bit of a slow month!

Ty has been doing his CELTA pre-assignments (he has pages and pages of homework, and the course hasn't even started yet!) with a vengeance. I've started my MA with less of a vengeance (as I'm still waiting for a textbook to arrive and the first few units were reviews of basic concepts).

At both of my schools, mid-year exams are underway, meaning that I've been doing lots and lots of correcting: Which really isn't blog-worthy. One thing that is blog-worthy is the "breakfasts" that the teachers have before they start correcting: Picture 12-15 women, sitting on the floor, with plates and plates of salads, hummus, falafel, bread, exotic mixes of grilled veggies ("This recipe is from Jordan/Syria/Tunisia," they say as they fill your plate to overflowing). Besides being incredibly delicious, the breakfasts (eaten around 11:00) are also wonderful bonding experiences. Maybe the coolest thing, though, is that, when everyone is relaxed in an all-female setting, the hijabs and veils start coming off, and you actually get to see what everyone's hair looks like (long, highlighted, curly... and everyone suddenly looks 10 years younger).

The big news, of course, is that my Mom is coming to visit for a few weeks. During that time, we'll take her to Dubai (we have tickets to go to the top of the Burj!), and Abu Dhabi to see the Guggenheim exhibit at the Emirates Palace, as well as a few local events, including the famous Camel Festival, which is happening a 5-minute drive away.

This event made news last December when Sheikh Hamdan (who sometimes parks his helicopter in the soccer field behind our apartment building) paid almost $3 million for a camel there. Anyway, this year's festival is sure to be quite special as Sheikh Hamdan has done a lot in the past few months, since his arrival at the palace in Liwa, to bring attention to the area.

Of course, I'll also drag my Mom to school with me, so that she can have a breakfast or two...

The Burj Dubai/Khalifa

Last week, 4 January 2010, the Burj was finally opened, making it officially the world's tallest skyscraper. Dubai put on its “let's show the world that we can put a good show” gloves, and staged a grand opening ceremony. The ceremony, which can be watched here, included vast amounts of fireworks being let off from the building itself, from top to bottom, a huge sound and lights show, and an accompanying, co-ordinated water show from the Dubai Fountain which lies in front of the building.

At the ceremony the Burj Dubai was newly renamed Burj Khalifa, presumably after the current President of the UAE and Emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The building has broken a large number of records, including, at 823m, the tallest man-made structure ever built. It trumped all previous record holders of various categories (tallest skyscraper, tallest structure, tallest freestanding structure) by over 200m. It is 160 storeys high. It also holds other stranger records such as world’s fastest elevators, and both the world’s highest mosque and swimming pool.

It is quite something driving into Dubai and seeing this futuristic building looming over absolutely everything, including buildings much taller than any in South Africa. We can’t wait to get up to the top as soon as we have the chance. (Hopefully it will be open for tourism while Virginia’s mom is here!!)

Just after it was built, this guy took a camera to the very top and made a video looking down from the top. It's worth a look, especially if you've ever been to Dubai.

*pics courtesy of wikipedia