Radotouille Around The World

When we considered moving to Dubai, one of the major pros was the fact that it was a Muslim country.  the idea of having our children   learning Arabic and Islamic studies at school was tempting, and the simple fact that odds were that they wouldn't be the only Muslim students at school was really appealing as well.

Even though  friends in Montreal and Greenville always showed respect and interest toward our beliefs, we felt that it could be nice,  to celebrate Eid as a  whole country, instead of taking a day off school and work. when you miss school, eid/no eid, you have to catch up and it s no fun!

This is why i was so overwhelmed  last Wednesday  when we were invited to the Eid Assembly at my children's school.(JBS).  few weeks before we received an empty shoe box and were asked to help the children decorate it and  fill it with small presents for needy children in the UAE. and in case you are wondering if poverty exist over here; yes it does exist;  people are barely able to feed their families in some areas, and hopefully i will be able to tell you  more about it soon.

The boxes were to be delivered by a not for  profit association: My vision society: Jemiyat Ro'yati, along with their regular  monthly delivery of non perishable food(thanks to generous donors)

The boxes were so pretty, and the children got all excited about it,  mine  got crazy,,,Sarah went with a heart theme, and rassim with a star one. i was very proud of them!

The whole shoe box appeal is a concept commonly used around Christmas or thanksgiving, but tweaking it for eid was a great idea in my opinion as it reflected what Dubai is made of and how International schools should be!

The day after the Eid assembly  the boxes were loaded in the association's truck by grade 5 students, and by the principal and primary headteacher, then delivered to the children. i heard the children were thrilled to have Eid Gifts, and  if i can get pictures of the delivery i will share them for sure.

The day of the Assembly, the school was decorated, thanks to the Eid committee ( a dedicated bunch of mothers that went a little bit overboard)

and it w as fabulous.

a free buffet of sweets, was available called "fwalat el eid" basically meaning the treats of Eid.

it was an amazing display and i wish i had more pictures to show you, but i was busy helping out.

We had a some Quran recitation, and Hajj simulation by Muslim students,

A" eid mubarak" in all the languages spoken by the school Muslim students   

A little talk about what was Eid el Adha about, (the commemoration of the prophet Abraham sacrifice) and how it brings Muslims all around the world on that time of the year to pray and worship Allah in Mecca.

At the end, all the students  sang a song about the shoe boxes" little boxes" a very cute little song.

Then the students were given little goody bags with some  money " aaydiya" . it is a tradition to give money to children on eid day. 

I enjoyed the Assembly a lot and appreciated the fact that some non Muslim parents came to the assembly. it was the best lesson i could teach my children: In Dubai, (like everywhere else) We live together and respect each other, no matter  who we are, where we are from, or what our beliefs are!

Thanks JBS For planning that Assembly... And Eid Mubarak everyone!

I love markets, the smell, the produces, the smiling faces, the bargaining...i just love them. this is why i was so sad when my daughter started throwing up at the fish market the other day...she cant stand it...mom it stinks, lets get out of here....

How can my daughter be like this??? Well she is north american, where everything is out of the super market, clean and of course : odorless....  

I gave her few weeks, than we tried it again. but now the decision is made, i am not taking my children with me next time...they whine and complain and it s not fun anymore...

The fish market is in the old part of the city, close to the port, of course, in front of the gold market...just in case you want two shrimps and a gold ring, and close to the spice market and the old souq. it s a part of the city that i like a lot.  No show off here.....

The prices are not written anywhere, you have to ask for everything, and your price and mine will probably not be the same :) depending on how good you are with negotiating you might or not cut your losses 

The produce part is in one side and the fish market is right beside it....there is water everywhere, with blackish mud all over... big buckets with piles of fresh fish right out of the water...it is amazing.

Germophobics should stay home though.

The mediterranean in me suffered in Montreal and greenville because the fish was tasteless and expensif!

Here....it s smells like ocean and tastes like heaven.

I took some pictures, bought some shrimps and other things and came back home to have a seafood fest!

Ah and if you wonder what is this place, you can stop here on the way out and have your fish cleaned for really cheap....pretty convenient isnt' it?

See ya!

Since we got here 6 weeks ago, one major thing made me feel uneasy: Transportation. i usually am good with maps, and roads. highways dont scare me, but here...it's chaos. there is no symetry in most of the major highways, so if you miss an exit...you are good for a trip around the world before you can come back to your starting point.

When Sarah started school, we were still in the hotel in dubai Marina, and her school was in the old part of the city 20 minutes away. we managed to get her transportation taken care of, but i had to drop  her off, or pick her up a couple of time in Taxi.  imagine: you dont know the city, there are no adresses, so you need major geographic points like :parks or hotels etc... and to top it off, some taxi drivers dont speak english, nor arabic. ah and of course, you cant even tell him the way...Hello i just got here, i dont remember what exit it was...Frustrations frustrations frustrations....that day, the driver called a friend of his on the phone, i told where i wanted to go, and he translated...at least he had a smart solution.

Now that i finally have a drivers license and can drive,  i am experiencing another kind of frustraion: getting lost all the time...even with an up to date GPS! i keep saying that the problem is the evil device, but  maybe i should surrender and admit that i am the problem. it seems that i miss the exits all the time!!!

It is exhausting and frustrating ( one more time)... and i miss the 385 so BAD!!!!

But at least i am getting familiar with the area i live in, maybe i should stick with what i know and stay there forever ?? No! i will keep trying because i am too proud to let  Dubai's Roads win over me, 

now i let you go with my new favorite word...

Recalculating....