Dolphins, Rain, and Registration

DOLPHINS:

For my birthday last month, Jaclyn got us a ‘swimming with dolphins’ experience at the Dubai Dolphinarium. We got to spend about 20 minutes in the pool with the dolphins as they pulled us around the pool. We had a blast doing it, even though sometimes it felt like we were riding bucking broncos. The dolphins have unbelievable power, but yet they are so gentle and cognizant of their surroundings.

RAIN:

From the 27th of February through the 2nd of March, we got about 2 inches of rain in the UAE. A normal person would think “that doesn’t sound like so much water”. A desert dweller would beg to differ though. The drainage systems here are not very well built or maintained. In one area, three (of the four) lanes on the major road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi were flooded. One of the main roads around Dubai was totally closed for about a day. Some of my co-workers could not physically make it from their homes to work (without a boat). Jaclyn actually had a ‘rain-day’ from school, a day after the rain had stopped.

The flooding got worse for about a day after the rain stopped. Check out the pictures from Sharjah (another city that is connected to Dubai). These pics were taken about a day after the rain stopped.

REGISTRATION:

On March 4th, Jaclyn took her exam (boards) to become a Registered Occupational Therapist (OTR). We decided that we would celebrate a ‘pass’ on her part that evening. Then, a few days later, we got her scores back and found out that she actually did pass. A big congratulations goes out to Jac.

That’s all for now. Leave a comment below (it’s mandatory).

More Visitors and the Dubai Tennis Tournament

The New Year has brought a flux of visitors through our doors. Our friends (Elizabeth and Andy) just left following a one week stay in Dubai. I think that they were both equally impressed with different facets of what Dubai has to offer. Elizabeth really liked the beach, sun, and warm weather, while Andy was thrilled to take in all of the sights.

Every time that a new person visits Dubai, Jaclyn and I seem to discover a new place to go or a new thing to do. With our most recent visitors, we went to The OBSERVatory. It is a restaurant/lounge/bar on the 52nd floor of a building that overlooks the Palm Island. Best of all, from 6-8pm, the drinks and snacks are 50% off. Check out the pictures (it's hard to see the palm in the pictures).

Here are some other photos from the last week:

Every February, many of the world’s top tennis players converge on Dubai for the Barclays Dubai Open. The women’s tournament finished last Saturday, and the men’s tournament started Monday night. My buddy (a red-headed guy named Eric who is internally referred to as ‘twin-replacement’) and I went to the opening round of the men’s tournament. Opening round tickets are only about $8, so we really couldn’t afford to not go. We got to see Novak Djokovic (world ranking #2) and Andy Murray (world #4) win their first round matches. The seats were general admission, and we found courtside seats in the 7th row.

January Wrap-up

We have been very busy since our last post. Following a short visit to Illinois, we were quite exhausted when we arrived back in Dubai. Brad and Jordan came back to the UAE with us, and we enjoyed the first half of the month spending time with them. It was great to have them here for a visit. We love having people to show around. We all experienced most of what the UAE has to offer.

Crab hunting in the shallow seas of Umm Al Quwain.

The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

The girls had to get all 'covered up' to go inside the mosque.


Fireworks for the opening of the Burj Dubai now known as the Burj Khalifa. Khalifa is the ruler of nearby Abu Dhabi, who recently paid off a lot of Dubai's debts.

In front of the Burj Al Arab, with the Burj Dubai in the very distant background. This photo was taken from on the Palm Island.

Burj Dubai: self explanatory.

When we got back from the US, I (Adam) immediately moved to a new project. I am now commuting to Abu Dhabi (~50 minutes) everyday. I travel with a few other guys, so I don't have to drive all the time. It really isn't too bad. The project is called Al Raha Beach - The Ultimate Waterfront City. The project is 11km of beachfront property that is being developed with towers, canals, villas, town-houses, etc. You can check it out at http://www.alrahabeach.com/.

Jaclyn's work has gone really well over the last few weeks. She is working at Dubai Center for Special Needs as the work placement coordinator. She is placing a few of her students (17 to 28 year-olds) in after-school work programs, which is a really big step for special-needs individuals in Dubai. The UAE is really far behind on individual rights, but there seems to be a small movement in a positive direction. I really feel that Jaclyn is making a big difference in the lives of the students.

Maggie, our puppy, keeps growing and growing. This weekend we took her out to a secluded beach. She learned to swim, and she enjoyed wading along the shallow beach.

The last two mornings, I got to watch Marty's basketball game over the internet. That was a pretty good deal for me. Even though the video feed was a little bit choppy, I really enjoyed getting to see some of the games.