Red Bull Air Race

Red Bull Air Race Abu Dhabi 2009

Hannes Arch of Team Abu Dhabi secured fourth place at the fourth round of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Budapest. I really like this photo that was in an article of the local magazine. I thought it was really cool that it had Abu Dhabi on the plane. From car races, to planes and even camel races who would have thought they would have all of this in the sand. They are really big in sports here from European football to horse raceing you just wouldn't believe it unless you were here.

Church

We went to church on Friday, which is their church day here in Abu Dhabi. It is kind of hard to get used to because at home church is on Sunday, but I am sure we will get used to it. We went to the The Evangelical Community Church and the church was full. The service was nice and they had really good singing there. The church has two services in the morning and they are working on adding on to the building right now.

I was reading an article the other day about the Sheikh Zayed Mosque remember it is the third largest Mosque in the world. (the Mosque photo was taken earlier in the blog postings). The Mosque can accommodate a staggering 40,960 worshipers and Paul thought the church we went to was big, haha.

Pre school

We have been looking for Sydney a pre school and it seemed like we were to late because everyone seemed to have a long waiting list then I kept calling and we finally found one close to the villa if we ever get there, but that is another story. The curriculum is Montessori based which cover Montessori concepts which include themes, sensorial, practical life exercises, languages, math, science and culture, environment, sports and finally music and drama. She will have half the studies in English and the other in Spanish. The hours are different from home 8:15am to 1:15pm they do have extended times, but we will mainly have her there for those hours. They will even pick up your child and drop them off just like a regular school does at home, aka the bus. I believe Paul will take Sydney to school and we are thinking about having the bus bring her home. Seeing how we only have one car. We are thinking about getting something used though. It is hard to believe our little girl is growing up, but she is. I am excited for her to go to school and make friends, but I will sure miss her. One thing about it she will be keeping busy and learning a lot and it will give me sometime to volunteer or do something for myself while she is gone and there is still plenty of time in the day for us to be together. I am also tring to get her into a mommy and me dance and guess what they have kindermusik here just like home and they have a class in the evening and I was thinking about doing that with Sydney and also we plan to join a mom and toddler group that meet once a month on the second Tuesday of every month. It sounds like a lot, but I think it will be fun. Sydney's first day of school is Sept. 6.

Villa

Family and Friends have all asked about the villa and when we are moving in. Well, we have no idea. The villa is finally done and we hope to move in soon. Here everyone takes there time no big hurry for anything. It is hard to remember that it is not like America where everyone wants things done now right now. I am just hoping to move in before Christmas I am just kidding I am sure we will not be in a hotel that long. We will keep everyone posted when we finally get to move in.

Ramadan update

Ramadan has started finally and the malls still open at the same time, but the restaurants are not open until 7pm or so to eat at in public and during the day the stores are open a few hours in the morning and close during the afternoon and open back up after sun down. The grocery store is open all day. You don't see anyone eating, but at my surprise there is a lot of people shopping at the grocery store. Mostly there is no difference during Ramadan and no Ramadan you just have to remember that you can not eat or drink in public during the day and dress respectfully.

Thawb (kandura)

I wanted to share what the Muslim men wear here. In the UAE the word kandura is more commonly used for the mans attire. The mans outfit seems a lot cooler. I didn't realize that you could have it made of sheep's wool for colder weather.

Men wearing dishdashas

A thawb or thobe (Arabic: ثوب‎, ṯawb), dishdasha (دشداشة dišdāšah), kandura (كندورة kandūrah) khameez (قميص qamīṣ) or suriyah in Libya, is an ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves, similar to a robe.

The word thawb is the standard Arabic word for 'a garment'. It is the traditional Arabic dress for men. It is sometimes spelt thobe or thaub. It is a tunic, generally long. The word is used specifically for this garment in the Persian Gulf States. There has been some debate regarding the correct length of the thawb. In the orthodox view of Muslim dress code, the length should be somewhat shorter than ankle.

The thawb is typically worn by men in the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Morocco, and other Muslim countries. It is normally made of cotton, but heavier materials such as sheep's wool can also be used, especially in colder seasons. The style of the thawb varies slightly among the various regions within the Persian Gulf. The sleeves and the collar can be stiffened to give a more formal appearance. Other names may be used for this garment. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, the word kandura is more common. In the Levant, dishdasha is the most common word for the garment. In Morocco, the sleeves tend to be much shorter so that the thawb may seem more like a long T-shirt and is locally called gandora. Also the neck tends to be more open than in its Saudi counterpart and is often embroidered as is the breast pocket. Also it might lack buttons altogether.

The term thawb is also used to refer to similar women's garments. The traditional Palestinian woman's long tunic is called thawb. Another example is a very long, over-sized woman's garment with a heavily embroidered front panel and billowing back, also known as a Khaleeji dress, which is most commonly seen in the West worn for performance of the Saudi women's social-style dances, in which manipulation of the large thawb is a key component.

From Wiki

Henna

Being new to the country I wanted to know what the designs were on the womans hands here so I looked it up and the Henna is very beautiful and very different.

As a tradition, in some countries, henna is applied to the hands and feet of brides to celebrate their wedding day; some apply it also for ‘eid and other religious celebrations, or indeed to celebrate any good occasion.

The dramatic, dark red designs of henna are considered to have originated first from the Middle East and India. The striking and intricate designs of henna are painted on the body with a paste made from the crushed leaves of the henna plant and a mixture of aromatic oils.

Henna gained popularity in the U.S. after the early 1990’s. Many American musicians and Hollywood personalities adopted the pain-free method of applying henna as a form of body decoration in preference to tattoos–the temporary tattoo. As the trend grows in popularity, so does the list of personalities.

There are different rituals everywhere involving henna. Some people believe henna brings everlasting love and makes a successful married life, some do it to chase away evil. But whatever the reason, most people do it for the sake of its enchanting designs.

The application of the henna can take any where from one to five hours depending on the type of designs being applied. The more elaborate and intricate the designs, the longer it takes for the henna artist to apply the bridal henna designs. Designs of henna last from a few days to a few weeks before fading magically from the skin and it costs a lot less than a permanent tattoo.

Please take a look at some of the beautiful henna designs that I found on line recently.

Photo by Ameer Hamza
Dressed for Eid-ul-Fitr, with lovely floral henna design on hands.

Photo by Asma-kr
Eid-ul-Fitr floral assymmetric Arabic henna design on hands.

Feet are not forgotten, bridal henna designs on the feet.