Friday, December 23, 2016

"Same Same"

Dubai is truly a melting pot of cultures with over 60 nationalities living here and more than 80% of the population are expats.  Needless to say, you pick up a lot of Dinglish (Dubai English), which is a good mix of English, Arabic and Hindi.  We also find ourselves using a lot of European phrases such as jumper (hoodie), holiday (vacation), lift (elevator), toilet (bathroom), soccer pitch (soccer field), school kit (school uniform) are just to name a few. Perhaps my favorite saying though is "Same Same," which basically means "same but a little different!"  This is also the best way to sum up our lives here...Same Same!

Our day starts out the same with the boys getting ready for school and out the door by 7:15.  Our school in Dubai and our TX school are both approximately 10 miles from our respective homes, but in Dubai we take a tollway and it takes us 25 minutes without traffic (45 minutes with traffic).  In Fairfield we take side streets and it's a 15 minute drive (we don't have traffic back home!!)  The parking lot in front of our Dubai School is now metered parking, so you must pay to park after 8:00 am!  Most people can pay for their parking via SMS, but I do not have that capability with my service.  Which means I have to have just the right coins (Dirhams) otherwise the machine won't take them!  Not too shiny or too dull!!  Or you can take your chances like I did the other day, and risk getting a parking fine for 150 Dhs or $40. Oops!

School hours are the same (7:50 am - 3:00 pm), except in Dubai grades PreK - 12 are on one campus.  We have 4 campuses back home.

The kids attend school 5 days a week (Dubai: Sunday - Thursday and Fairfield: Monday - Friday).

We play a lot of baseball in both places with practices several days a week and a game on the weekend.

We drive on the same side of the road here in Dubai, but as I mentioned, with over 60 nationalities, that's a lot of different driving norms, so it can get pretty crazy out on the roads.  There are a ton of round-abouts in Dubai, which you don't see too often back home.  There is so much construction going on, so the roads are always changing and traffic gets diverted.  Google Maps is merely a suggestion and Siri does a lot of "recalculating!"  It is completely normal in Dubai to flash your brights if someone is going too slow.  People will also drive on the shoulder to pass or even put their car into reverse on the major tollroad if they missed their exit!  I take a lot of taxis and Ubers while in Dubai, especially if I'm not certain as to where I'm going.  Driving here is not for the faint of heart!!

It's technically winter in both Dubai Texas,  but Dubai winter temps are not as cold.  December through March are the cooler months with highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's.  The temps start to climb back up into the 80's and 90's in March and April!  Bye Bye Winter!  Texas winters can be all over the place though; one day it's 70 and the next it's 30 degrees!!

CHRISTMAS CONCERTS and PARTIES at ASD

Jake is in K1 Giraffes!
 Cash & Liam are in the same class - K1 Camels
Jake had Santa limbo at his party
How low can you go!!
Mason, my architect, decorated gingerbread houses at his class party
It was fun to see all the creative houses!
Mason's class with Mr. Stone
The 5th Grade Holiday Concert
The twins were beyond thrilled to be there! Ha!

 Mason had the opportunity to meet Adrian Gonzales.  A-Gon is the 1st Baseman for the LA Dodgers, and they have partnered with Emirates Airlines to sponsor the Dubai Little League!
 Mason plays in the Majors Division for the Mariners
 Playing short stop on the Subway Field
 The DLL Concession Stand menu is not "same same" as back home!  Where are the pickle pops?!?

We spend a lot of time at the pool!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.