Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011

We took Anders to school, played on the playground with Stefan then Jennifer took me to the immigration office. When you come into the country you can stay 30 days. I arrived on August 15 and am leaving Sept. 29. The experience was similar to going to a government office in Dallas. Although, you probably wouldn't find people dressed in all white with a turban for the men or all black with just a slit for the eyes for the women. Of course, I took my passport with me. There was an Arabic man in white robes in front of me in line with a USA passport.
I went into the first room and there were a lot of people sitting in chairs waiting there turn. So, I went to the counter and asked a man in a white robe where I needed to go first. He wrote something out in Arabic and told me to go to the typing room. Thank heavens their signage is in English as well as Arabic. So I followed the signs and arrows for the typing room.

It was a large room with about 10 people at computers, plus a cashier and a copy person. I asked someone who was being helped where to start and they waved me down the row. One man said he could help me. He said to give him my passport and the note and have a seat. In a few minutes he had me come to his desk, he handed me a piece of paper and sent me ton the cashier. The cashier said it would be 610 durhams. The exchange rate is $3.60 to one durham. After paying the cashier, I went back to the man and he asked me if I had a photo, just the one in my passport. I said copy that one. So he scanned it and then sent me to the next man to have some copies made of the papers. The copy perso then took out the smallest pair of scissors I have ever seen, cut out my picture, stapled it to his papers and asked for another 5 durhams and then I took all the papers to the first guy and I was out of there in record time. And it turns out they sold me United Arab emirates health insurance policy for a month. Apparently, that is part of the fees and requirements if you are here longer than 30 days. But they didn't even ask me if I had travelers insurance which I do. Oh well, I am doubly insured for the next 15 days.


Then Stefan fell asleep in the car so Jennifer dropped me off at the mall, so I could go to the grocery. We were totally out of grapes. And when grapes is all Stefan wants it's a sad thing. The grapes from the USA are the only ones that are seedless. I texted jennifer to find outif she wanted camel for dinner? The answer to that was a resounding NO. When they lived in Doha, Qatar I had camel one night for dinner and it was quite tasty. So I bought ground beef. The meat and fresh fruit and vegetable sections are an international trip. Avocados from Kenya, beef from Ireland, Australia, USA, Brazil, melons from Israel, plums from Spain, Australia, apples from China, mangoes from everywhere and they come in other colors besides the green/red ones we get from Mexico, fruit from Thailand, pineapple from the Phillipines. There is a hairy fruit that you cut open and then it is white on the inside with a seed on the inside of that. It's one of those fruits that makes you wonder how the first person who ate was brave enough try it; it's called a rhombathan and it's from Indonesia.
Today they had kettle potatoe chips and I found flaxseed.

I took a taxi home and it was 5.50 durhams. Last week it was 6 durhams. It makes you wonder why the difference. This taxi driver even helped with the groceries. And then jennifer said to give the taxi driver a tip of one or two durhams. I wonder how long you have to be someplace when you quit dividing the durhams by the dollar to see how much it's costing you?
I am not there yet!

After lunch, Stefan and I and Charlotte watched "Fireman Sam" while Jennifer took a nap. We picked up Anders from school and went back to the play place in the mall. Stefan got his hair cut, we rode the rides. I am extremely grateful Anders is too small for the TILT-A-WHIRL
We rode this boat ride that swirled around and up and back forth for what felt like ten minutes!

Then on to the play ground. Up the stairs and down the slides we went. Through the tunnels on hands and knees for me. I getting to be pretty good at crawling through the tu meld after Stefan. Across the wiggly bridges, around and around we went for about an hour and a half and the it was home again and time for dinner, bath, books and bed.

Another busy, active fun filled day

Jennifer, said I was lucky they were will g to scan my passport so I could use the passport photo. She said she spent the whole day there when she