Tuesday 7:57 PM 10 March 2009
(Yes, I changed the look of the blog again)
One could get used to the March weather in Abu Dhabi. Today began and ended sunny, with just a light breeze in the afternoon. To kick off my day, I'm developing a habit of hitting the pool on the roof. There's just enough sun in the morning to make swimming a treat.
After my swim, I wandered around the pool area listening to my "Teach Yourself Arabic in 60 Minutes" CD. All I can remember is "no" and numbers "1 and 5". I'll just have to listen to the CD more frequently. At least I can recognize the Arabic numerals for 0 - 9. I enjoy reading the license plates on cars and translating the Arabic numbers.
Khalidiya Mall
There were still some odds and ends I needed for the apartment. So after cleaning up, I walked over to Khalidiya Mall. It's a 2.5 block hike from the apartment, which works out to over 1/2 mile on foot. My big discovery today is a pedestrian walkway which goes under Zayed the 1st street. The walkway saves time and energy crossing a major street. The only shopping I did was at Lulu's Hypermarket, upstairs where the computers and clothes are. I found a needed replacement power supply for our Nintendo Wii (the one that came with the Wii only supports 110v at 60Hz), also found a VGA cable for the TV and some swimming goggles for me and my son.
The walk back to the apartment was uneventful, just the usual dodging of vehicles, and constant twisting of my head looking out for cars in ALL directions. Feeling a bit peckish, I wandered into a KFC for a bite. KFC sure seems big around here. There are adverts everywhere for KFC - they even deliver via motorcycle if you can't drag yourself out of the house. Lunch cost 18 dirhams (about $5 U.S.).
Swim #2
After my son came home from school, and finished his homework, we hit the pool to try out our new swim goggles. We did have to make some minor adjustments for fit and to resolve some leaks. The chinese made goggles worked well and kept us in the pool a bit longer - if it wasn't for the cool breeze, we might still be there. Even though we needed goggles for the chlorine in the pool, the chlorine levels here have not been as wicked as in the club pool back home. I plan on hitting the pool again tomorrow morning - great way to start the day.
Dinner
For dinner I cooked stir fried rice with chicken, carrots and onions, I added the rice vinegar at the end for a little zing, and I baked terriyaki/orange chicken wings too. My son went to town on the rice, he even had thirds. Dessert was plain yogurt with honey drizzled on top and mandarin oranges.
Arabic Lessons
I received a quote from another Arabic Language school (this one is actually an Arabic school). Language lessons here sure seem a bit spendy. Back home I could take classes at about $100 per credit, or about $500 for a 5 credit class for an entire quarter (but not in Arabic). My quote for a beginner Arabic language course is 3 classes a week for 6 weeks at a cost of $8,000 dirhams or about $2,180 U.S.! I may have this wrong, I'm a bit confused by the wording of the email, it could be it's actually $1,800 dirhams ($490 U.S.) for a 6 week course and that there are a total of 5 courses (30 weeks of beginner studies? I doubt it). I'll have to investigate further.
Well that's all for tonight. Our apartment furniture is supposed to arrive within the week. We've been getting by with temporary furniture. And I do mean temporary. I was so jet-lagged and dead tired when I arrived in Abu Dhabi, that it took me 5 days to realize that the bed is lumpy.
Now I notice every night.
Best, "M'a sa-laama-a" (go with peace).
(Yes, I changed the look of the blog again)
One could get used to the March weather in Abu Dhabi. Today began and ended sunny, with just a light breeze in the afternoon. To kick off my day, I'm developing a habit of hitting the pool on the roof. There's just enough sun in the morning to make swimming a treat.
Swim #1
This morning I had the pool all to myself. There's nothing better than doing several laps without the kiddies to avoid. While swimming, I realized that my previous statement that the apartment building has 22 floors was incorrect. The elevator goes up to the 20th floor, but there's also a Ground and Mezzanine floor (22 floors), and when you get off the elevator on the 20th floor, you have to walk up to the 21st floor to access the gym and spa (23 floors), if you want to use the pool, you have to go up another floor to the roof access (24 floors). So that makes 24 floors if you count the pool! What a view.After my swim, I wandered around the pool area listening to my "Teach Yourself Arabic in 60 Minutes" CD. All I can remember is "no" and numbers "1 and 5". I'll just have to listen to the CD more frequently. At least I can recognize the Arabic numerals for 0 - 9. I enjoy reading the license plates on cars and translating the Arabic numbers.
Khalidiya Mall
There were still some odds and ends I needed for the apartment. So after cleaning up, I walked over to Khalidiya Mall. It's a 2.5 block hike from the apartment, which works out to over 1/2 mile on foot. My big discovery today is a pedestrian walkway which goes under Zayed the 1st street. The walkway saves time and energy crossing a major street. The only shopping I did was at Lulu's Hypermarket, upstairs where the computers and clothes are. I found a needed replacement power supply for our Nintendo Wii (the one that came with the Wii only supports 110v at 60Hz), also found a VGA cable for the TV and some swimming goggles for me and my son.
The walk back to the apartment was uneventful, just the usual dodging of vehicles, and constant twisting of my head looking out for cars in ALL directions. Feeling a bit peckish, I wandered into a KFC for a bite. KFC sure seems big around here. There are adverts everywhere for KFC - they even deliver via motorcycle if you can't drag yourself out of the house. Lunch cost 18 dirhams (about $5 U.S.).
Swim #2
After my son came home from school, and finished his homework, we hit the pool to try out our new swim goggles. We did have to make some minor adjustments for fit and to resolve some leaks. The chinese made goggles worked well and kept us in the pool a bit longer - if it wasn't for the cool breeze, we might still be there. Even though we needed goggles for the chlorine in the pool, the chlorine levels here have not been as wicked as in the club pool back home. I plan on hitting the pool again tomorrow morning - great way to start the day.
Dinner
For dinner I cooked stir fried rice with chicken, carrots and onions, I added the rice vinegar at the end for a little zing, and I baked terriyaki/orange chicken wings too. My son went to town on the rice, he even had thirds. Dessert was plain yogurt with honey drizzled on top and mandarin oranges.
Arabic Lessons
I received a quote from another Arabic Language school (this one is actually an Arabic school). Language lessons here sure seem a bit spendy. Back home I could take classes at about $100 per credit, or about $500 for a 5 credit class for an entire quarter (but not in Arabic). My quote for a beginner Arabic language course is 3 classes a week for 6 weeks at a cost of $8,000 dirhams or about $2,180 U.S.! I may have this wrong, I'm a bit confused by the wording of the email, it could be it's actually $1,800 dirhams ($490 U.S.) for a 6 week course and that there are a total of 5 courses (30 weeks of beginner studies? I doubt it). I'll have to investigate further.
Well that's all for tonight. Our apartment furniture is supposed to arrive within the week. We've been getting by with temporary furniture. And I do mean temporary. I was so jet-lagged and dead tired when I arrived in Abu Dhabi, that it took me 5 days to realize that the bed is lumpy.
Now I notice every night.
Best, "M'a sa-laama-a" (go with peace).
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