Hello all! Quick update on Gotcha; the crab and Cosmo the beta fish- both are doing very well! I'm so pleased they seem healthy and active. Gotcha' has turned into a higher maintenance pet than we expected- we bring fresh water and wet sand from the beach every 4-5 days and clean out his crabitat. Water and wet sand are freaking heavy! I get wet sand because I think it may have plankton and other stuff in it Gotcha' may need. We must be doing something right because he is thriving.
We attended the World Cup Footvolley tournament and it was wonderful. There were athletes from 17 different countries vying for the title and they were amazing. Footvolley has the same rules as volleyball but the player cannot touch the ball with his arms or hands. They displayed some pretty incredible skills using thier heads, shoulders and kicking the ball back and forth over the net. I'm posting some pics but if you have seen this blog before you know my picture taking skills are definately lacking. Amy or Ashley have taken much better pics! The schedule was way off and despite our best efforts we missed seeing team USA play. I know they beat Russia in the first round but were eliminated by Croatia later. I searched the entire venue until I found them and got to meet and talk to them. They are great guys who are living life out loud and ripping it live! The cheerleaders from the American school in Dubai were also there and did a routine on the field as well as cheering all the teams during the event. A DJ also played (very loud- maybe I'm just getting old!) between rounds. The Walk is already very crowded with the return of nice weather and tourists and the weekends are especially busy so parking is at premium but the added traffic from the Fottvolley tournament meant parking was insane. We watched from our window as cars parked in a sandy area and no less than 4 cars got stuck in the sand and had to be pulled out. This went on for a couple of hours. Remember- I told yoy the television here is not so good so that was actually pretty entertaining!
We attended the World Cup Footvolley tournament and it was wonderful. There were athletes from 17 different countries vying for the title and they were amazing. Footvolley has the same rules as volleyball but the player cannot touch the ball with his arms or hands. They displayed some pretty incredible skills using thier heads, shoulders and kicking the ball back and forth over the net. I'm posting some pics but if you have seen this blog before you know my picture taking skills are definately lacking. Amy or Ashley have taken much better pics! The schedule was way off and despite our best efforts we missed seeing team USA play. I know they beat Russia in the first round but were eliminated by Croatia later. I searched the entire venue until I found them and got to meet and talk to them. They are great guys who are living life out loud and ripping it live! The cheerleaders from the American school in Dubai were also there and did a routine on the field as well as cheering all the teams during the event. A DJ also played (very loud- maybe I'm just getting old!) between rounds. The Walk is already very crowded with the return of nice weather and tourists and the weekends are especially busy so parking is at premium but the added traffic from the Fottvolley tournament meant parking was insane. We watched from our window as cars parked in a sandy area and no less than 4 cars got stuck in the sand and had to be pulled out. This went on for a couple of hours. Remember- I told yoy the television here is not so good so that was actually pretty entertaining!
The American flag waving proudly! It was windy and of course my pic didn't capture the whole flag!
Team Brazil in action!
Brazil bounced the ball off his chest to set up his team mate to kick it over the net. They don't just kick it like a soccer ball; many times they have to flip upside down in order to hit the ball high enough to go over.
I know it looks like he is about to hit the ball with his hands but he is jumping high enough to head butt the ball over the net. I don't know how these guys can take so many hits to the head- they were hitting hard every time, too!
TEAM USA!! The guy on the left is from San Francisco and on the right from Detroit. Mr. Detroits' hair was long- down to his waist. I hate we missed seeing them play bit they had a great attitude and seemed to truly enjoy the sport. They gave me a card and asked me pass on some info. They are really trying to raise awareness of the sport- http://www.detroitwaza.com/ and youtube- waza tv. Check them out!
There was a tent offering free samples of local food. We got the macaroni dish. The flavor was good and there was lots of chicken in it but also lots of chicken bones- mostly small chicken bones. We called it "Bone-A-Roni".
Halloween was a few days ago and I decorated- of course! They don't do Halloween here but there are so many ex-pats that the local child care centers have parties. We walked past and saw the children all dressed up and running around being super heroes and princesses- so cool! They even had valet stroller parking- the parent would stroll up and take the child out of the stroller and an attendant would give them a card with a number on it to reclaim thier stroller when they leave. Only in Dubai! I wore my abaya and an orange witches hat with cool feathers to work on Halloween and took my pumpkin for everyone to see. We even stopped and got doughnuts for treats for everyone. (OK there are maybe 7 people in the whole office). They get a kick out of me and my oddities! I brought the pumpkin home and was still in my abaya and halloween hat when a young boy got on the elevator. He smiled at the pumpkin and the odd looking blonde lady wearing a witches hat! I asked where he was from- Russia, and if they have Halloween there. He said they do but not here so he couldn't go trick or treating. We got to my floor and he was impressed with my door being decorated. A couple of hours later the doorbell rings and I open it wearing my pajamas thinking it was the laundry guy. Nope- it was my little Russian boy -and he brought a friend! The shouted trick or treat and held out grocery bags to recieve thier treats. The smart little rascal! I was totally shocked and UNPREPARED! I have never not had candy on Halloween and this young boy was so excited that he would be able to participate in Halloween! YIKES- what to do?! I asked if they would accept some dirhams so they could buy thier own candy. I could tell he was a little disappointed but they gladly accepted the money and said thank you.
My front door. Jimmy puts up with so much crap from me; he just smiles and never says a word.
A very expensive pumpkin! Jimmy actually cut the face- he doesn't think it is a good idea for me to handle sharp objects! Smart fella'!
Closer shot of the spider web I put up around the door frame.
Me- the ill prepared witch who had to pay off the only two trick or treaters I got on Halloween!!
Gotta' go now. I love you and miss you and hope all my readers had a safe and Happy Halloween!
M&J
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