Fujairah Campout

I remember mom saying so often that you just plan for rain in Germany and then if it happens to be dry, enjoy the peasant surprise.  It’s the polar opposite in Dubai.  Sunglasses are permanently perched on my face to combat the constant sun.  You have to plan on how to stay cool enough and hydrated.  So it’s completely baffling that we had two activities thwarted by rain in the last week. 

The first was our camping trip to Fujairah—another Emirate on the other side of the country, a two hour drive.  The scouts have another round of boys and a few family members finishing their scuba certification and the troop planned a campout to accompany them on their final open water dives.  A bunch of others, Isaac, Makenna and me included, were going to do a couple pleasure dives at the same time.  And there was a group who were going to go snorkeling.  We left Dubai early Friday and caravanned with about 15 SUVs and a big trailer. We set up camp in a family camping area just across the beach road.  Indian Ocean, narrow strip of sand, two lane road, big field of dirt with our large group, good sized hills of dirt/rock.  After setting up camp and making lunch, we learned that the coast guard had called for all boats to be pulled out of the increasingly rough waters.  Yes, it was breezy, and we had some impressive clouds that looked a little dodgy, but we were still surprised.  The snorkeling was canceled for the day and everyone kept their fingers crossed for the dives the next morning.  What we didn’t count on was the crazy traffic cruising up and down the road.  Is there really nothing better to do on the weekend than drive back and forth, zooming and screeching between the frequent speed bumps?  Motorcycles and four wheelers would pop wheelies, guys would ride on the roofs of their cars or have a few people standing up through the sunroof.  It was obnoxious, but funny.  And very LOUD.  The better part was watching the, ummm, paragliders?  They had big chutes like the ones parasailers use on their boards in the water, but they also had big fans strapped to their backs propelling them along.  There was even one skeletal dune buggy that took flight.  Campers from other groups brought fireworks and big bursts would go off randomly.  And there were lots of floating lanterns—just like in the movie Tangled.  We would love to learn where to buy some of those.  They are so peaceful and lovely and thus, completely out of place that night.  Ha ha.  Some thought the driving would last until well after midnight, but it quieted down before that.

Scout tents

Panorama shot of the scout side of camp.  Isaac's patrol had the tent on the far right.  

I got Isaac's tent to myself.  I took a big piece of memory foam to sleep on and it was a bit improvement over Oman. 

Inside the girls' tent

Panorama of the parents and siblings.

Best shot I could get of the flying car with my phone.

We set up a car block to stop more from joining in our fun.  But we had plenty to watch.  The parasailers were rather a distraction while I was trying to teach a couple of first aid points.  

They looked down from above, but never came down.  

Makenna took this from up on the hill.

Sunrise

Breakfast

There was some lightning during the night but just a few raindrops.  In the morning, the wind had not improved and thanks to 3m high waves, the dive was called off.  Bummer.  But the girls had had fun in their own tent.  I had my own right next to them and Isaac was off with his patrol.  There was a good campfire program.  It was fun to watch Isaac being all grown up.  I helped 9 boys with a series of first class requirements.  The girls climbed all over the hills with other sibling friends.  So not a wasted trip, but still everyone left a little down and earlier than planned. 

Right now I am sitting in the back seat of the car with my legs stretched out on the consul between the front seats.  The windows are cracked to take advantage of the pleasant light breeze.  It’s sunset prayer time.  There are two mosques nearby and their songs are a little discordant.  The few lingering clouds make the sunsets pretty.

The other thing that got messed up due to weather was the kids’ homeschool program.  It was a chance to share/perform in front of a large group.  Isaac had originally passed citing too much work already, but I think he wants to join in once a new date is set.  My girls were each going to recite a poem.  I know there were science reports, music performances, dance routines, and original writing also on the program.  There was also an area to display art work/school projects.  It was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.  About noon with muffins baking in the oven to take, I got a phone call saying it had to be called off because the ministry of education was closing ALL schools early due to the impending storm—the same one that had caused big problems in Saudi.  We were meeting in a room at a college, so we were included in the closure.  They closed the pool too so Matt couldn’t swim.  He and Isaac joined me for a little run instead and the girls biked along with us.  It did rain a bit, but not enough to even make decent puddles. 

We were thrown a little off schedule with a bout of head colds.  Nothing serious, but Matt, then Jessica, then Isaac had aches, sore throats, loss of energy.  It lingered for about a week.  Makenna had a touch, but it really only lasted a day.  I lucked out.  Poor Jess is still coughing junk.  She’s full of energy again and says it doesn’t hurt, but it sounds terrible.  Since the presentation program was called off Thursday, her new trick is to do a hand stand against the front door and recite all the poems she knows upside down.  She was going to do just one with actions, but now wants to leave out the actions and just do it upside down when it’s rescheduled.  We’ll see. 

Poor sick girl

I have stayed up late a few times in the past week calling BYU.  I understand their ignorance about our situation because before we moved here I had never envisioned a place with a complete lack of public schools, but I feel like I have explained it so many times to so many of them now and I’m still hitting the same road blocks.  Can someone just pretend to care a little.  They could take lessons from USAA on customer service.  Here’s a quick exchange that made me laugh.  I was trying unsuccessfully to order a midterm for Isaac online, so I had to call.

Me: I’m calling from Dubai in the UAE and need to order a test. 

Student: Okay, I can help you with that, but you’ll have to give me a zip code or country name to look up a list of proctors. 

Me: The UAE is a country.

Student: Oh.

So besides being busy with school, Isaac went up for a board of review and is now a Life Scout.  He will officially be awarded the rank at the December court of honor, but the clock has now started for the 6 months of leadership required for Eagle.  It is quite possible that he make finish that my next summer.  He needs to think of a good project and start work to get it approved.  He also has to finish up Personal Fitness (1/2 way through tracking his exercising and improvements on sit-ups, pull-ups, mile run etc.), Citizenship in the Community, Cooking, and Camping.  They all have a lot done, just need finishing up.  Cooking is going to be required starting Jan. 1, so he will need that one. But that’s one he likes. 

I’m still in the car.  I have been doing this a lot.  I sit outside because the concrete steps inside are so hard.  Sometimes I run to the grocery store towards the end.  I bring along a cool to try and keep everything fresh.  We started the season with 2 days for 2 hours each, but then Makenna’s teacher begged for her to stay an extra 30 minutes a month ago and Jessica’s teacher was happy because he has wanted her to stay longer anyway.  But then they started prepping for this show and they were coming 3 days a week for 3 hours and yesterday and today it’s 4 hours!  The show was going to be Wednesday, but it’s been moved to tomorrow.  Yeah!  They love gymnastics, but it will be a relief to have a break over the break.  In my mind it’s still Christmas break.  Christmas décor is up in so many stores, but it’s still not a Muslim holiday.  But all the schools have a big chunk of time off….  The girls are performing for National Day.  I will have Isaac video it.  There will be another rhythmic performance in two weeks at the close of the season. 

It’s already Thanksgiving time.  Emily asked what our plans are.  We are going to their friends’ house—the Ramptons—along with about 10 other families.  It will be laid back, lots of food.  It will be nice, but we will miss family.  I’m sure it’s the same for the others and that’s why we group together. 

I have spent a lot of time on Amazon doing my Christmas shopping.  What would I do without it and an APO box??  Well, I would do what all the real ex-pats do and spend 3x the money doing it.

Matt and I love our date nights.  People finally know to not bother asking me to do anything on Wednesday because I wouldn’t trade my date night.  Even when Matt was under the weather, we went out to an early dinner. After we ate and paid the bill, we asked if it was okay to hang out at the table for a while—it was early by their standards and not a weekend, so sure!  We stayed talking for an extra 1.5 hours. 

Makenna and Isaac have been babysitting more.  Once on the same night so Jess hung out with Matt and I.  That was a tiny glimpse of what is approaching.  It made us a little sad.  My favorite time of the day is gathering in our room at the end of the day—bedtime rituals with tickles, teasing, tossing kids and a few dozen “good night”s.  

We may have to move house.  Our owner is wanting to sell, but is waiting to put it on the market until they announce the host city for the World Expo 2020.  We are so sick of hearing about it and seeing it EVERYWHERE.  It started over a year ago but has been growing in intensity, until saturation.  It’s on cars, billboards, radio, newspapers, websites, store windows, back of receipts, park flags…. Maybe you get the idea.  There is much talk about housing prices going up if they win it.  It’s going to be self-fulfilling.  It will go up because everyone expects it to.  It’s a pain for us, but life goes on.  We are more excited to hear Kim’s news.  She might get to live in two different houses with us! 

At Spinney's