Cars, Conferences, and (a Fantastic) Mr. Fox

In general Ramadan has really slowed down life here. Most of the month I was alone with little to do on the job, as nearly everyone I work with was on a long holiday. After a few days of fasting and drinking no water during the shortened work hours of 9-2, and after many afternoons and evenings spent bored to tears with nothing going on, not even shopping or banking, until dinnertime (Iftar), I could see why. Though we have enjoyed spending a lot of time at home together, where we are free to eat and drink, exercise, and listen to music as we please, the holy month has made our settling-in process slower, as businesses and banks only operate during my work hours and then again, around 9 in the evening, my normal bedtime. Nonetheless we're pretty much completely legal here. Driver's licenses, health insurance cards, Emirates' identification, resident's visas, telcom account, you name, it we got it now.

Including a brand-spanking-new 2011 Ford Fusion! I can't believe we bought new, but it made sense in some important ways. We're paying very little month-to-month (with a fair interest rate) for a vehicle that meets our needs, especially as Tim is going to be in it for an hour or two every day commuting off the island for work at the Naval College. There is also much added security in buying new in case anything goes wrong mechanically in the next few years. Abu Dhabi does not have much of a car repair or maintenance culture, so that kind of thing is not as easy or cheap as it can be in the states, making buying used more of a financial risk. I'll keep carpooling with colleagues to work, myself, as there are others in our building who work at my same office. For Tim, having cruise control and automated blue-tooth voice-activated phone and media services are extremely helpful perks we would pay outrageously for in a rental car (if that was even an option, which it isn't now, with residential parking permits now required where we live).

Work picked up for me this last week as everyone got back from their long summer holidays, and my job began in earnest. Since then I've been quite busy coordinating communications and logistics involved with a major conference the university puts on for faculty and new staff. The conference takes place the week after next, but with the 5-day end-of-Ramadan holiday happening this week (woo hoo!), that meant that my supervisor and I had a ton to do with very little time to do it. As I was also exploring some new roles in my job, this has been an exciting but stressful time at work. I am also very excited to have two guests of my own--a supervisor from Illinois, and another from Portland State--as key invited speakers. Dr. Candyce will even stick around after the conference to stay at our home for a few days and see some of the local sites. I'm looking forward to her visit.

We had a surprise visitor this last week, however: my Uncle John! This was a real treat as I had not seen him for nearly 3 years. He was working locally so he managed to spend a few days here with us before flying out to Brazil. I was slightly bummed out, because if it had been 1 week earlier I could have easily taken a day off work, and if it had been 1 week later I would have had the week off...but as it was, there was no way I could take a day off this last week! However Tim was fairly free, so they were able to hang out and visit during the day, and at least my hours were only 9-2! Of course, 1 evening was also interrupted, as I was invited to a documentary screening at the UAE Crown Prince's palace here in town, which was attended by our Chancellor (and Minister of Education for UAE) Sheik Nahyan and Vice Chancellor, as well as the Crown Prince of Bahrain and the Sheik of Dubai. This was a very interesting if unfortunately timed event in this case. A colleague and I went together, where we were seated in a ladies section as major political leaders entered and were greeted. Then we watched a film about the UAE in Afghanistan. The major security force from the Middle East in Afghanistan today, the UAE military is known especially for provisioning health care to women in Afghanistan, who will only go to UAE-army female doctors rather than take health care in an integrated setting. The video showed how religious similarities helped the UAE as an allied force to work with people on the ground and fight the Taliban, while of course regional differences in cultures, customs, and language separated the soldiers from the civilians. It was an educational and interesting event, and luckily Tim and Uncle John were not too bitter that I had to visit the Crown Prince for an evening!

For Uncle John's last night in town we went to one of our favorite local restaurants which is in walking distance: Lebanese Flower. Though we can get very tasty hummous and pita ("Arabian bread") at our local grocery store for about $1, and falafel for not much more, Lebanese flower is not much more expensive, while it also offers a great, authentic cultural experience. We also invited a new colleague/neighbor Kate, who also comes from the Pacific Northwest. It was a great way to send Uncle John off, and we're thankful we got to visit with him for a time we did.

We are excited to also await many other visitors in the months to come. Katie from England, and Peace Corps Volunteer Trevor will be visiting on his way home, and maybe a few more Peace Corps, as Abu Dhabi is not out-of-the-way for those buying cheap tickets back to the states at the end of service. And my sister Suzy is coming for my birthday/Christmas! I cannot wait to have Suzy here!

And there's one more guest to our home, but that one is here to stay: a new kitty we got last night named Mr. Fox! We saw three cats yesterday at their foster homes here, and were happy to take Mr. Fox home with us right away, after also getting a litter box and a kitty carrier (Feline Friends is the only resource here for strays and other abandoned cats in Abu Dhabi, and is awesome to work with). Mr. Fox was picked up off the street at 5 months, and has spent 5 months living in a small room of the house of a loving foster family, so he is still getting used to life here. He is playing with us and rubbing up against us but still quite shy for us to pet him. He woke us up this morning with loud meowing and since then we've been taking shifts playing with him while the other sleeps. He seems to be getting used to us pretty quickly all things considered, so we are hopeful that he will soon feel at home here with us. He is a beautiful white-and-ginger Arabian Mau with the sweetest face and biggest eyes...and a big meow! We're happy to build roots here in Abu Dhabi this last month, to have a family.