Trippin' around town...
Life keeps ticking along in Al Ain. My days are filled with getting up at the crack of dawn to go to work, where I battle the ladies in all things grammar for a few hours. Sometimes after work I head to one of the malls for lunch, but since coming down with E. Coli with four of the other teachers, eating out has become a slightly fearful event. But a week of charcoal tablets and Acidophilus and a few unforgettable bathroom experiences and a generally grumpy mood all around I seem to be righted once more. Bring on the Baklava!
More taxi bling. This guy wins the award for best carpeted dashboard.
Sequined Sheik Zayed Abaya. This lady get awards for glitz , traditional dress and patriotism all rolled into one!
Al Ain Door. Feels a little like India, though its really really Al Ain.
Sheik, Chic and Sheik.
Me and the Mountains of Men.
Josh's students brought food one day and I was an honorary guest, because I say Hi to these guys in the hall in the morning. All giant teddy bears. They pout like kindergarten students when Josh chastises them and fight over who has more stars on their tests. If I didn't know them, Id be scared to meet them in a back alley!
My lady students have been great, but we are winding down to the final exam and they are starting to really get on my nerves. First of all, they keep announcing how they would like the format of the final exam to be. Multiple choice, not too long, and they would like me to give them the answers ahead of time so they can memorize them. Also, attendance has all of a sudden become a great imposition. After the attendance man comes around, I have a chorus of clacking black sheets around me. " I have a doctor's appointment." My baby is sick." "My mother can't walk. I have to go home and feed her." "I have a job interview." "I need to go shopping for my sisters' birthday present." "I have had a headache three days. May I please go home?" And my favourite: "May I go home? I need to study English."
Two other valid excuses to go home early in my class: "Miss? May I go home early? I don't feel well, and I am going to give birth anyday." And "Miss? May I go home? I'm feeling sick because I am in my first trimester of pregnancy." Five of twenty six students in my class are currently concealing tadpoles of various stages under those abayas.
Some good things about the girls: A few of them are interested in yoga and asked me to show them some. I have shown them the basic sun salutation A. We all go it once together, and they say, "Thank you Miss!" and our mini yoga class is finished. I have also shown them a few simple back and shoulder stretches, whixh they are happily practicing at home with their mothers. One day I told them, "I can't practice any yoga with you today because I am wearing a skirt." Miriam turned to me and said, "No Problem Miss! Take your skirt off! We are all ladies here!" Riiiight.That would go over well when Mohammad comes to collect the attendance sheets!
One day my students decided to dress me up in the traditional "Burkha." Thats what they call this nose piece thingy which older women wear in the Emirates. The thicker the part near the mouth is, the older you are. They were nice and bought me the thin one. Its very light and made of some sort of shiny material backed by felt. I felt a little foolish but knew I looked like a freakin' idiot as my students all whipped out their cellphones and errupted in giggles as they snapped away to show their families, who reportedly roared with laughter. I promised them if I ever get married I'd wear the Burkha to my wedding.
One day, Some students were doing a presentation on Oud, which is a strong perfume or incense used in weddings here. One lit up this giant wooden block which a traditional incense burner, and smoke poured out of it and quickly filled the class with sweet pungent odour.
"This is what we do with this!" Fatima announced and then looked at my clothing, perplexed. Before I knew it, she had the shoved the whole thing up the front of my shirt, smoke billowing out the neck of my shirt and up around my ears! Next she stuffed the whole thing up my skirt, her arm submerged up to her elbow. The students were rolling around laughing, as a few called out, It's okay Miss! Don't worry, Miss!" All I could say was, "Ooooh. Its very warm in there now!"
They also smeared my wrists with thick sappy oud pitch which smelt strongly like a pine tree gone wrong. They told me I couldn't smoke my naughty bits with oud and then go to the souk or I would drive the men there absolutely crazy. Stinking like smoke and pine pitch, I did nothing for the boys in the van and someone had to roll down the window. I scrubbed with soap and water but I couldn't get the Oud smell off my wrists for several days. It did mellow though, and wasnt half bad after day three.
Another day I was having a BAD E. Coli day, and the truth is, I couldn't pee. I looked terrible. Two students, both called Fatimas (and neither of them were not the same Fatima as Incense Fatima), approached me to find out why I looked so sick. "I can't go to the bathroom." I confided. "Oh Miss! I know this problem! Many people have this problem! I will call my driver to bring you something natural to help you!" As Fatima dived for her phone I panicked. I wasn't constipated. I had visions of my bathroom problems taking a whole new turn. With out even thinking, and using graded ESL language, I said "Fatima, Thank you, but you know my problem is in the front, not the back." Realising what I said, and the look on their faces, I dropped my head in my hands in embarrasment. The girls laughed a lot over this one! "Miss, you are very cute! Don't worry, we are all sisters here!" The driver brought me fenugreek, which I mixed into a bitter tasting tea, and I could pee again. Thank you Fatimas!
They drive me crazy, But I will miss them once they graduate next week.
Al Ain Mosque Wall
Sometimes I head to the Intercontinental pool after school, where I laze around and do a few laps in the pool. Last week I saved two dung beetles and scary looking bee from drowning while clinging the lane dividing ropes. I was a little scared to save the bee but decided from a yogic perspective no life is more valuable than the other. It’s not the bee’s fault he or she was born a freaky looking harmful little specimen.
My nights have been spent reading news and emails on the internet, the occasional trip to the tailors with some of the girls, where I haven’t got anything made. Oh yes, and marking homework and tests from the sheeted ladies. I’ve also been dabbling back into the art work. And of course, the never ending wandering the streets of Al Ain. Lately, I've been inspired to draw mosques, so my photos are becoming little records of cool details I can later use in my own work.
The only paints I have been able to find is a kid's guache set at Carrefour, and so this is the best I can do for now. Rene says she knows of a good store in Istanbul so I'll load up whe I am there, but for now this crap paint is fun to mess around with.
This is a little picture I drew for our head teacher Kelly, who is leaving us for Abu Dhabi tomorrow. She is a very cool lady and I've really enjoyed working with her and getting to know her. I started drawing this on the front steps of the university, warming up from the air conditioned classroom in the 46 degree heat. The steps are so burning hot I have to sit on my textbooks. Its a good way to strike up conversation with the Emirati students, and one nice elderly man has promised to bring in some nice photos of mosques for me to use as a reference in my revived hobby.
Back to Dubai...
Lately on weekends, I have headed to Dubai to meet up with Laura and more photo taking, gallery meandering, little coffee drinking, shopping and chatting.
Ahhh. The cafes. I loved the decor of this place, but I will never forget the horrible service. But we can look and we can dream. I really loved the decor of the "Basta Art Cafe." what a wonderful little space. I thoroughly checked out how to make that canvas sheet window.
This is a reflection of a cool building in the windows of a not-so-cool building.
I took this from our dingy hostel hotel which had an African restaurant on the fourth floor. The clientele were largely black and largely large. They went up and down the elevator all night. Ding! Ding! Ding!
Another view from the hostel.
Me and the two lady Lauras.
This is an Iranian Mosque found very close to the bus station.
I love Iranian mosques in that the domes and facades are covered in blue tiles and use really loopy arabic script called Nastaliq that I studied years ago in university. One day I want to go to Esfahan in Iran if only for the mosqueage.
The facade of the dome. Can you imagine how much work it took to make those tiles?
You can't deny the beauty!
It was Friday and the Mosque was packed so tight men laid their prayer carpets down the back alley to pray and listen to the Imam. I took a photo of their shoes lining the front steps of the mosque.
Our Al Ain Camel Safari
The Abu Dhabi Group came to visit us one weekend and we went out literally behind our villa in El Hili for a camel safari. It wasn't much of a safari as a zoo ride: We sat on the camels which were all tied together, and our Pakistani helper walked the camels out into the desert, then turned around and came back. We did get to run around in the sand dunes though.
Camel Bum.
Our nice Pakistani camel helper and the biting camel nicely muzzled who walked behind me on our little trek.
Camel saddle.
Melanie of Arabia. Lawrence has nothing on me. (Except I think he actually knew how to ride a camel and didn't need to be tied together!)
Sand Dune Yoga. Me, Laura in a handstand, and me again. I was dumping sand out of my pockets for the next week!
This is the last week of our two month semester. Thursday is officially our last day, and Friday afternoon Laura and I are flying off to Istanbul for a week of fun times with my sister, Rene. After the week is over, we are all flying back to the UAE, where both Laura and Rene will begin teaching in Al Ain with me, but I'll lose Ramona, Maggie, Sarah, Kelly and Josh. Thanks guys, for making the last two months fun. Another two month contract and more blogs to come!
Next stop, Istanbul!