New Routines

Six weeks in and we are mostly settled into our apartment. Although the feeling of "home" is still in the building phase, we now have most of the comforts, like beds, a couch, and wi-fi to which our devices automatically connect. We are still recovering from the effects a month of hotel living had on each of us, but our new schedules are falling into place.

The view from our couch: the "New Presidential Palace" on the left, Emirates Palace (Hotel) on the right, Arabian Sea in the background. Not pictured: the five space heli-pad for the hotel's premier guests.

Commuting

The biggest change to our day-to-day routine as it was in D.C. is the addition of bicycles. The last time I rode a bicycle for any distance was in 1996 (I was 19), but for the last two weeks I have biked Q to school and back everyday (5 km each way). The weather is perfect (for now) and the entirety of Abu Dhabi is flat, which helps with getting used to riding again. I bet my legs wouldn't have been sore at all except for the extra weight and the twenty years.

A relatively long uninterrupted stretch of bike path. Etihad Towers (home) on the left, the nearly-complete ADNOC building (Abu Dhabi Something Oil Something) on the right.

It seems like only a blog post or two ago I was saying semi-nice things about the drivers here, but after only about three days of bike commuting, I developed a healthy rage towards a few of their less desirable habits. For instance: effective use of turn signals seems to follow an inverse correlation with the price of the vehicle, especially when turning from the middle lane. At pick-up and drop-off times, parents find parking in front of, or in, the bike path to be extra convenient! That's why they put those ramps there, right?

Jenn's office is about 38 km (23 miles) from our apartment, so she has elected not to bike to work. Instead, she shares a bus with her co-workers which stops at the apartment complex next door. Q enjoys watching out the windows for her bus in the evenings.

Cooking

We like to cook, eat, and generally hang around in the kitchen. Our previous living spaces have all had kitchens that were both effective work spaces and decent social locations. Our new kitchen, however, is neither. A product of two of the U.A.E.'s cultural traits (an unbalanced focus on external appearances and a tendency to hire someone else to do everything), our kitchen has top-notch appliances, an impossible work-flow, and a single electrical outlet (which is one more than any of our bathrooms). Also, a combination (all-in-one) washer/dryer!

Layout prevents comprehensive perspective. Doubles as a panic room!

I think the layout would be called a "galley" kitchen in the parlance of state-side realtors, but it's basically a hallway with cabinets. Each end has a door, both of which swing into the kitchen and both of which have deadbolts, keyed on both sides. Doors open: half the counter space and cabinets are blocked. Doors closed: complete isolation. The whole set up is clearly made so that you can visibly exclude your kitchen staff, which is understandable, if somewhat awkward. But the double keyed deadbolts are just creepy. Is it so you can lock your self, or someone else, inside? Or so whoever is inside can't lock you out? Why does a kitchen need lockable doors at all?
Anyway, we'll get used to it.

Weekends

Our weekend schedules have not changed much at all. We walk to the grocery store (or ride to the produce market). We walk or ride to the beach, or along the Corniche. We try to nap. Our local grocer, Carrefour, is what's known as a "hyper-mart" here, basically a one-stop-shop for everything from apples to Apple products. The chain is French, however, which means you can also get foie gras, a wide assortment of fancy cheese, or 10 lb. tins of duck confit. Aside from the selection of fruits, veggies, and meats available (last night we had camel), the biggest difference is that all loose produce items must be bagged, weighed, and stickered before you reach the cashier. This means that you stand in line twice, but the pre-weigh station definitely cuts time off of the second line and saves you from arguments over the price difference between rambutans and mangosteens. (These look nothing alike, I just like the words.)

We are traveling to Oman soon, so stay tuned for more travel adventure and complaints about a new population of drivers!

UAE National Day Celebrations

As many of you may, or may not know, the UAE is still a relatively young country. In fact, I am only a few years younger than the Union and both sets of parents have been married longer than the Emirates have been United. As a result, national pride here is truly amazing. We are on the down side of a week's worth of celebrations featuring everything from nightly fireworks, insane air shows with fighter jets flying right over the Corniche, and the most amazing displays of lights, flags, and painted cars you can imagine.

Fighter jets on the Corniche displaying the UAE colors.

Heart effect over the Emirates Palace gate.

Emirates Palace from our living room window. Yes, the colors of the lights rotate through those of the UAE flag.

Our home, Etihad Towers, sporting the colors of the UAE flag.

While Christmas is not much of a thing here, the displays for National Day provide some unintended holiday cheer.

Headed to the Breakwater to watch the rowing races.

Three things

One: Lease Agreements

Although the preliminary administrative processes required to enter into a rental contract are substantial and time consuming, the actual agreement is remarkably short. The terms and conditions of our twelve month lease fit neatly on the left half of a single page, mirrored neatly in Arabic on the right. Of course, we were required to pay the entire year's rent up front as a precondition of being able to sign the contract, which eliminates quite a bit of the usual language. There were an additional 4 pages (half pages) of special conditions regarding early termination and utilities. Based on the special terms for the power and water connections, it seems like there may have been issues in the past with individuals re-selling or otherwise sharing electricity outside of the metered residence, but I doubt that happens much in our building.

Two: Daycare Rules

On the way to pick up the lease contract,  Q and I stopped by the "nursery" where we hoped to place him until he can start prekindergarten (again) next fall. The administrator showed us to the room where Q's age group was doing whatever kids do in a Montessori school. Q immediately went to the bookshelf to snoop around and waved good-bye to me. I followed the admin back to the office where she filled out some paperwork and I paid a deposit. She handed me a single page of school rules and regulations (not mirrored in Arabic this time), which amounted to this: don't bring peanuts, soft drinks, or gold to school. I believe the "no gold" rule is intended to prevent loss or theft of valuables, but I like to picture a room full of tiny merchants, haggling, exchanging wares, and throwing the occasional tantrum when a deal falls through.  A related side note: there is an ATM that dispenses gold at the hotel across the street from our new apartment. Gold!

Three: Traffic Enforcement

One of my cab drivers today, after complaining about another driver on the road, told me about the traffic violation penalty system here. Speed violations (over or under) result in fines and single "black marks" on your record, running a light gets you eight marks. According to him, such violations used to only result in fines, but due to the affluence of most Emiratis, fines alone were totally ineffective. The black marks, however, seem to have worked. Upon acquiring 24 black marks in a calendar year, the driver is sentenced to one month in prison. Three lights and your out! The taxi driver then told me about an acquaintance who, upon running a second light, parked the car for the rest of the year. From the pedestrian perspective, this is a great system (no one runs lights) and although the driving is relatively aggressive, it is also consistent and efficient. Kind of like Atlanta, but with only the attentive, purposeful drivers.

Week Two: Q Swims!

So, from our past posts you've already learned that 1) we moved to Abu Dhabi for Jenn's new job, 2) that starting a real life here requires obtaining a work visa and an Emirates ID, and 3) its quite warm, even in the "cooler" months. All of this adds up to Q and I spending our days together until we can place him in a school. We start our weekdays (Sunday through Thursday since Friday is a holy day) by having breakfast all together as a family, after which Jenn is off to work. Q and I then (try to) spend a couple of hours doing "school" inside (practicing reading and writing fundamentals, counting, reading stories, etc).

Then, at 10 AM, or just before one of us cries, we head out for our morning adventure, which may be walking around the city, finding new playgrounds, or (and I never thought this would be a passtime) exploring the various malls of Abu Dhabi. I can say with confidence that I have spent more time in a mall since arriving here than my pre-Abu Dhabi cumulative lifetime mall total, but that's another post. Anyway, we then have some post-adventure lunch and a nap.

After nap, Q and I head up to the hotel pool so he can wear down his recently charged batteries in the water. He has always liked the water, and we were regulars at the pools in DC, but Q has been reluctant to put his head underwater for the last two summers. In the last week, however, Q went from keeping his hair mostly dry to spending about as much time submerged as above water. He has even done a few solo swims! Most of the rest of this post was just filler around that sentence.

Once we are both pruny and shivering (don't mock, it really does feel cold when the wind blows), we hang out by the pool and read more stories. This week we've been reading from a discount kindle purchase called "Fairly Tales Every Child Should Know" which was apparently translated into English sometime in the 17th century. Common theme so far: murderously envious stepmothers. I do a bit of paraphrasing as I read, but it's hard to get around so many attempted killings without undermining the plot. Let's just say Disney left more to the imagination than the original authors.

It's dark by the time Jenn returns, but she and Q often jump back in for one last night swim before supper and before the pool closes, magically turning the entire roof deck into a no-kids-allowed kind of place (they really want it to be a vibrant single's scene, but it just isn't). We often end our evenings with a short walk and espresso in an effort to try to stay awake until we can get Q in bed, ready to start over again in the morning.

Alright, enough for now. Will report back when Q's 25m freestyle time is under 30s.

Scenes from Abu Dhabi

I am sitting by our hotel pool reflecting on the last several weeks and realized we have not shared many photographs of our time here so far. Suffice it to say, this is a city that stimulates many of the senses. More to come tomorrow regarding the happenings of this past week, until then, enjoy the photos.

Looking west down the Corniche, a 9km waterfront pathway that is super pedestrian friendly. We will be living on the far west end of the Corniche when we finally move into our apartment.

Looking out over the Arabian Gulf.

Tile mosaics on the walls of the pedestrian underpass. No tunnel is left unfinished here in Abu Dhabi.

One of many parks that run parallel to the Corniche in downtown Abu Dhabi.

And one of many playgrounds that Quintus has conquered since our arrival.

The Al Mina fruit and vegetable market. Amazing fresh fruits and vegetables!

Two of the three light post art installations in the city, the missing third is of a woodpecker.

"I'm a little teapot..."

"Tourists" on the Al Marina Island section of the Corniche.

Real tourists deploying the selfie stick en route to Al Marina Island.

One of the more interesting plates of food we have encountered in our time here. I am not going to tell you what it is, just use your imagination.

And finally, it may be in the upper 80s to lower 90s here in winter, but it is still winter. Just check out the store displays complete with sweaters, scarves, and Ugg boots. I am not quite ready to go there....yet.

One week in

So, it's been a week since we jet-lagged our way into Abu Dhabi and our circadian rhythms have mostly fallen into step with the cadence of Gulf Time (or UTC + 4, for those who want to get all precise about it). Thanks to the seasonal ending of the magical nonsense that is Daylight Savings Time, we are now 9 hours ahead of the East Coast, which, based on what Christopher Lloyd taught me about time travel, is not far enough into the future to disrupt the space-time continuum.
So rest easy, friends.

Aside from the first two mornings, (when, between the hours of 2 and 6 AM, Jenn and I took turns trying to convince Q that it was not yet time to wake up) our time here has passed quickly. Jenn started work the day after our arrival, not only because "settling in" is for slackers, but also because having an Emirates ID card is a prerequisite for just about any transaction more substantial than buying a shawarma, and starting work was the fastest way to trigger the weeks-long process of getting the proper visa and ensuing ID card. The card is slightly easier to obtain than a license to practice law, but with no fewer seemingly arbitrary bureaucratic procedures and quite a few more passport-sized photos. And a blood test.

Don't play, Falcon is always watching.

Anyway, in one to seven weeks, we should all be officially recognized residents of the UAE, which is good because we already put down a non-refundable reservation deposit on an apartment in this building, which appears in the first image on a Google search for "Abu Dhabi." We will probably do a more in-depth post on the apartment search after we actually move into one, assuming we ever want to talk about it again. Until then, we will continue reflecting on how nice it will be to once again have more than one room and the ability to prepare our own food, which will not have to compete for space in the mini-bar. In light of how long things take to process here, please submit your applications to be our live-in maid and nanny ASAP.               Ha ha, just kidding! Sort of!

I'll close this post with a couple of observations about the city. First, it's very quiet. The loudest, most consistent sounds here are the five daily calls to prayer and the occasional car horn. I have not heard a single siren. I have seen only two helicopters. It's probably like what DC was like the day after helicopters were invented, assuming that day was also a snow day during congressional recess.

Sorry for you, low down floors.

Second, Abu Dhabi is quite clean, but very dusty. The insides of buildings are spotless, and there are people constantly cleaning every surface. Outside, there is very little litter, and the clean-up effort there is similarly ceaseless. But keeping the windows clean (and there are A LOT of windows) is a Sisyphean task. I'm not sure how many Arabic words there are for dust, but I'd bet that in the language of Abu Dhabi's window washers, dust is synonymous with job security.

See those tiny clean spots!

The Abu Dhabi World Trade Center residence tower rises 92 stories above our hotel pool, and we have spent some time speculating on the methodologies behind the various attempts made by tenants to wash their own windows from the inside. By far the most effective method is to hang a flag (UAE of course) from your window and let the wind beat the flag around, producing a perfectly circular clean spot. Who says national pride can't be practical?

The Art of Purging

This post should have come earlier this week, but I am still suffering from PTPD (post traumatic packing disorder).

As many of you know, I finished work in early October, so that I could spend more time with my packing. Needless to say, every minute of every hour of the approximately 22 days we (I) had was spent fitting all of our worldly possessions into the five duffel bags and four suitcases that accompanied us to Abu Dhabi.

                                                    Image 1: The End Result

The packing and purging process started off innocently enough; you always think you have more than enough time and more than enough space, when in fact neither of these things are true. For context, we moved out of a two-bedroom/two-bathroom apartment measuring less than 1,000 square feet with no additional off-site storage. How bad could it be?

The first week I accomplished a lot. I cleaned out all of our closets. Packed up clothes that had not been worn in years (or so I told myself), household items that seemed like good purchases at the time (Ball fresh herb keepers,  I'm talking to you), and listed all of our furniture on Craigslist. Within days, the dining table and chairs and all of our bookcases were sold, and that Sunday we dropped our first car load of stuff at the Goodwill. I was on fire!

The second week, well, let's just say the pace slowed somewhat, but the packing started in earnest. Why is it that as soon as you open up cupboards, your belongings seem to multiply like Gremlins that just fell into water? In any event, by the time the next weekend rolled around, we had a second car load of donations and whose idea was it to throw a party that Saturday anyway?

In any event, by the time it came for us to pack up all of the belongings we could not bear to part with (artwork, photo albums, and instruments) and drive them to Georgia for storage and family farewells, I did not want to respond to another Craigslister, pack another duffel bag, or think about how we were going to finish packing before our flight to Abu Dhabi on the 27th.

We did have to say farewell to one member of our family; Miss Kitts. The duration of the flight here and the uncertain time in a hotel before moving into an apartment resulted in the decision for our feline friend to return to her roots in Colorado. She and I did an out and back to Colorado in one day, well, she only made it one way. We definitely miss her feisty personality and her grudging affection.

                                          Image 2: Miss Kitts at the Denver International Airport

Our last night in our apartment we held an indoor yard sale. Sorry that I do not have any pictures, but picture the door of our apartment propped open, and a stream of our neighbors from the building came by and left with everything from our grocery cart and kitchen appliances to pool toys and stuffed animals. While I entered into this process thinking we did not have that many things, I finished knowing that I will think twice before making any and all future purchases, asking myself "Do you really need that fresh herb keeper?"

I am not quite ready to talk about my Craigslist experience and there is a good chance that I will never be. But next time I see you, ask me the story about the couch...

On surrealism, and travelling (relatively) light

So...we made it. Sitting here in our hotel room at the foot of the Abu Dhabi World Trade Center while watching what I'm guessing are contemporary Arabian music videos is eroding some of the nuance from my recollection of our travel day yesterday, but I'll try to recount some anyway. 

Hello world!

Hello world! We will have actual content in the near future, so stay tuned. Until then, add our URL to your bookmarks or write it on a post-it or ask Siri to save it for you. Do whatever you need to do to make this page easy to find again, because this will be our main portal through which we will share our adventures and possibly some of the more mundane aspects of moving to another country. Complaints about the driving. That sort of thing. Alright then, in a few long days, after 10 hours of driving and 14 hours of flying, we will start this thing for real with a retrospective look at getting rid of most of our belongings and starting over. Here we go...