Christmas Letter 2009

Steve writes our Christmas letter every year, but I thought I would include it in my blog this year so that everyone can see it. Happy Holidays everyone!!


Season’s Greetings friends and family,
So, we’re pretty sure most of you know by now that our family embarked on a new adventure this year. For those that don’t, in June we moved to the city of Abu Dhabi in the country of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To say it’s been an interesting year would be a monumental understatement.
So quickly about us - Angie, after spending the first 6 months of the year as a single mom while I was over here working, has gone back to school and is working toward her master’s degree in Nursing Education. Ashli started kindergarten and, as expected, has become an international class clown. And Caitlin is a big first grader who is very proud of the fact that she’s already reading at a 2nd grade level. I’m still chugging along in my job playing with lots of big, expensive, computer gear. It’s hard to capture everything that has happened but let me tell you about a few of our experiences and observations.
The first thing lots of folks ask about when we mention we moved out here is the weather. Just so we can get this little discussion out of the way – it’s freakin’ hot. Summer time is pretty ridiculous. The days are pretty much in the 110-125 degree range every day. Night time doesn’t drop in temp very much either. Did I mention we’re right next to the Arabian Gulf (they frown on you if you use the term “Persian Gulf” here)? That means that despite what you may think you know about deserts, it’s humid as well which kinda makes it like walking through a sandy swamp for a good part of the year. Luckily there are many pools and places with great AC. Unfortunately, given that it’s a Muslim country, it is relatively unacceptable to strip naked in public pools or in most places with the aforementioned AC. Therefore, you (meaning I) often go from being soaking wet with perspiration to shivering as I kick the icicles off the bottom of my jeans. Ang claims to love it. “It’s not so bad” she says. She, in my opinion, is a liar – at least in this regard. Anyway it’s bearable, if only just. With the pool in our back yard and the AC turned on high most days you can get by without feeling like a fried egg.
So having established that it’s hot here (I did mention that, right?), it’s also been a great learning opportunity not only for the girls, but Ang and I as well. We have learned that there is yet another country where people drive crazier than Americans. I’ve been to more than 18 countries in my travels so far and UAE ranks in the top 5 for insane drivers. We’ve learned that calling a New Zealand-er a Kiwi is not an insult. We had long deliberations on this before actually asking a Kiwi if it was offensive – I let Angie ask. We’ve learned that the surprising financial news out of Dubai lately shouldn’t have been. I’ve seen my share of over the top places, but Dubai takes the cake on that. However, looking up at the Burj Dubai (tallest building in the world) is still stunning. And we’ve learned that pretty much anywhere in the world, it costs virtually nothing to sit down on a hillside, or a sand dune, and watch a beautiful sunset.
However, one of the coolest things about our adventures over here so far is the diversity of people that we meet and see. I won’t claim that they are all nice or happy or welcoming, but that shouldn’t be expected. Nobody lives in a fairy tale. However, this is one of the main reasons we wanted to come here with the girls. We wanted them to see and meet and interact with other peoples. We’ve certainly seen our money’s worth on that front. Angie went to a group meeting consisting of expatriate women that all live here in Abu Dhabi. In that meeting alone she socialized with women representing 73 different nationalities. Ang and the girls had a play-date over the summer and people from 5 of the 7 continents attended. And, not to be outdone in the interacting with people from foreign countries department, I have personally flipped off at least 15 different nationalities for cutting me off, swerving into my lane, riding my bumper at 70 mph, and just driving like a jerk… hey, I’m all about diplomacy, but sometimes you just have to let folks know you’re displeased with them.
While one of the primary reasons we came here was to meet new people another was to see new places. Since we arrived here in June we have visited four countries. The first was UAE of course, then Oman – which you can read about on Angie’s blog – then a quick stop-over in Qatar, and finally we spent a week in Greece. When I took this gig, I knew it was going to entail a good bit of work. However, I didn’t count on not having time to take vacation for nearly a year. So with well over 200 hours of vacation on the books and wanting to take advantage of our proximity to so many cool places, we decided to take a trip to Athens, Greece. Greece was a lot of things. It was amazing when you look at the ruins and try envisioning the history and the culture that have come from this country. It was beautiful when we took an island cruise and saw the tiny hamlets on Hydra, Poros, and Aegina. It was a little annoying trying to find our way around the city on the public transport system that didn’t cater to English speakers. But what was priceless – and I’m sure my dad will appreciate this (think Rock City) – was asking the girls what their favorite part of the trip had been and being told that it was the hot chocolate I bought for them on the day cruise, or the bouncers we found at a local kids area or the metric butt-ton of stray cats inhabiting the little town on Hydra (ok, the hot chocolate thing made me kinda happy). Regardless, it was kind of a “bucket list” trip that we will always remember.
So our year in a nutshell - So far Abu Dhabi has been:
- Educational – We learned all about dolphins when we did a dolphin interaction at one of the resorts in Dubai. We learned they have numerous sharp teeth used for grabbing and holding and that they are good kissers. We also learned just how much fun it can be to get your leased vehicle buried to the axle in sand at the bottom of a dune and subsequently how much fun it is yanking it out (we’re not telling the lease company about that little adventure).
- Hilarious – Watching a 6’3” Pakistani run from a French Bulldog standing just over 1’ tall because they aren’t used to domestic dogs and are apparently terrified of them. I realize this may seem mean but knowing the dog and how non-vicious he is and combining that with the disparity in size… still makes me giggle.
- Spectacular – Going to my first F1 race here in Abu Dhabi and following that up with my first Aerosmith concert. F1 was way cooler than I expected and with intra-band drama aside and a combined age of well over 200 years old Aerosmith still knows how to rock! Ask me some time about Steven Tyler’s jacket he wore out on stage.
- Sad – Seeing another country building itself on the virtual indentured servitude/slavery of the Indian and Pakistani people and the contempt with which those people are treated will be one of the many things I hope the girls can remember and pull from later in life. Hopefully it will stand in their minds as a way not to treat people.
We’ve got another year at least here and we look forward to more adventures in and lessons about the world around us. Tune in next year to see what trouble we can get ourselves into and out of. Also, one thing we quickly discovered is that keeping up with friends and family makes this whole deal a lot easier and more enjoyable. So please feel free to catch up with us on Facebook and give Angie’s blog a look every once in a while to see what’s happening with us.
Have a happy holiday and a great new year!
Steve, Angie, Caitlin and Ashli