Weird title, I know, but they go together here. When the temperature drops the flies come out. And they come out in droves! They are annoying and persistent. We joke that even the flies are Emirati! They don't care if you swat at them, they just keep coming back to get what they want! What makes the flies extra difficult to deal with is the fact that my school is outside and I have to keep my door open. So they just keep coming in. It's very annoying when I'm teaching and a fly is buzzing around my head!! Funny, but annoying! The flies come out from November till about February or March, then it gets too hot for them!
The flies aren't the only thing that comes out when it gets cooler. The sweaters, fur coats, hats, and boots come out as well! It is so funny seeing the girls dress for winter! They truly have no idea of cold. They start by wearing their sweater, which evolves into a jacket and then out come out the coats, hats, gloves, and boots. You'd think they were going to go play in the snow! Right now most of them are just wearing a sweater or a light fall jacket. Winter in the UAE!
So the week after Eid when we were supposed to come back to school for Wed. and Thurs. was very different. I had 6 girls in 4th grade and 9 girls in 3rd grade. So they combined 1st and 3rd, 4th and 5th, and since 2nd had the most they left them alone, and put them in 3 different rooms. The teachers took one period to "babysit" and then had the rest of the day off. Everyone got sent home at 12:00. That was Wed. Fewer kids showed up on Thurs and the car riders were sent home when they got out of the car. It was only the bus kids that stayed. And only one bus did its route. The same situation took place, except there were only 2 groups instead of 3, and we all left at 12:00. Hopefully ADEC has figured out their mistake; you don't mess with Eid!
Friday after church I went to a German families' house and learned how to cook German food. The lady goes to the same church and invited the women and their daughters over. Since Cindy was going I went (I'm practically Cindy's daughter anyway, although she is too young to be my mother:). Anyway the food was very sour. I could taste and smell the vinegar in everything. The meat was marinating in vinegar water for 3 days and she used that same marinade to cook the meat and vegetables. She made this bread thing that resembled stuffing until it was baked and then it looked like meat loaf. It didn't taste like meat loaf though. I can't tell you if it tasted like stuffing since I don't eat stuffing, but I can tell you that I didn't like it. I'm not really sure what it tasted like, but that was about the only dish that I couldn't taste the vinegar. Even though I didn't like what was offered my mother taught me well enough to try everything and eat it. OK I didn't have the mashed potates, but other than that I tried everything else! The desert was delicious! It was like black forest cake, only in a pudding. Chocolate, cherries, and cake, you can't go wrong! We are going over to this same house for a late Thanksgiving meal on Sat. That should be yummy, but there will be no stuffing or mashed potates for me!
Next weekend is National Day and it's a big one; 40! The decorations are coming out and the cars are getting all decked out. Ashley and I were wondering if the people who were around when the USA was only 40 years old decorated and made a big deal out of the fact that their country is 40? We figured they probably decorated their horse and buggy!! I will be celebrating with a local family that lives next door to Cindy. It will be really interesting! That'll be my next blog.
88 degrees at 4:00pm
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