Happy Thanksgiving! Eid Mubarak!

As I am writing this blog, most of you are sitting down to a traditional Thanksgiving meal with friends and family. I will do the same on the morrow as John has to work today because it is not an Emirati holiday. So Happy Thanksgiving to all. We will have around 35 people at our house tomorrow to celebrate our Thanksgiving. Today Shirly and I have been cooking and cleaning in preparation for tomorrow. One Turkey Bird left last night to go to someone else's house to be cooked and the other one will go in my oven in the morning. Sweet Potatoe casserole and green beans were cooked this morning. Yesterday was more pumpkin pies and a cranberry mold. This is an important meal to all who are coming. It represents family, home, and good ole' southern cooking! I spoke to several of the attendees the other night (all from the south)and they are looking forward to this annual event. Most of these people come here every year to work during this time, so it has become a tradition for the Commander to host a T-Day meal. They were asking about it as soon as they arrived weeks ago.

Today also marks the beginning of an important Islamic holiday, Eid al-Adha, "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid." According to Wikipedia, the holiday is celebrated by Muslims to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God. The festival starts on Thursday, 26 November 2009, and annually falls on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja of the lunar Islamic calendar. The festivities last for three days or more depending on the country. Eid al-Adha occurs the day after the pilgrims conducting Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. Eid mubarak is a traditional Muslim greeting reserved for use on the festivals of Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr. The phrase translates into English as "blessed festival", and can be paraphrased as "may you enjoy a blessed festival". Muslims wish each other Eid Mubarak after performing the Eid prayer. This celebration continues until the end of the day, and continues a further three days. It is notable that saying these exact words is a cultural tradition influenced by deep roots of religion in it; however, it is not part of any religious obligations. Eid refers to the occasion itself, and Mubarak means 'congratulations'.

Emirati are celebrating this holiday over the next few days with traditional meals and going to Mosque. Many are taking the pilgrimage to Haj. The paper has been full of articles about the concern over the H1N1 Flu. Saudi Arabia is requiring all pilgrims to arrive vaccinated and with proof of vaccination. The paper stated the other day that a large percentage of people are electing not to receive the vaccine. Not sure why. I think it is free. Some people are concerned that it has not been tested thoroughly. Many Emirati this time as a vacation time and the airlines and travel agencies have been busy booking extended vacations. All the local schools are closed for ten days. I am not sure why they are closed for 10 days as the festival only last for four. It might be that the Eid holiday coincides with National Day next week. The Emirati celebrate their 38th year as a country on December 2.

Eid al-Adha Official name
Also called
Festival of Sacrifice, Sacrifice Feast
Significance
Commemoration of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah. Marks the end of the Pilgrimage to sundown, and ask God for forgiveness.
Begins
10 Dhu al-Hijjah
Ends
13 Dhu al-Hijjah
2009 date
November 27 to November 30 (calculated)
Observances
Prayer, sacrificing a goat, sheep, cow or a camel, giving to poor people as a gift.

***All information regarding the Eid holiday are taken from Wikipedia.

School Buses in Abu Dhabi

Today I read an interesting Letter to the Editor. Someone was compelled to write the Gulf News about the "concept of yellow school buses." This concept is so common place in America that I had never really given it much thought about what other countries do. Apparently someone seized upon the yellow school bus as a good idea. I notice though that the concern was not as much for safety as for the children not knowing which school bus they should ride and the confusion that takes place regarding this very instance.

In the UAE the school buses are nondescript white buses that often resemble the buses which are hauling construction workers. Sometimes I have seen red ones with a white top which makes them a little more distinguishable. Most often the only way you know they are carrying children is the small 8 x 10 copy paper sign taped in the back window with the words "school bus" haphazardly scrawled on it often in very poor writing and in less than bold ink.
The author made these comments regarding his growing concern for the welfare of the children of the UAE, "....buses from different schools go past the same pick-up point with only a very small tag displaying the school's name. Children rush to catch their respective buses but often get confused and there is a risk of them boarding the wrong bus. During a dust storm or rain, pupils waiting at the entrance of the buildings have to go out and check every bus to see if it's theirs. I would say the yellow school bus is a good idea....." The author went on to say that the buses should be clearly marked on the sides for all to see. I noticed that the author did not mention that the children could be hurt or run over by passerbys during this confusion. Not once was the word "safety" mentioned. I cannot say for sure that the author did not mean to include safety only it was not mentioned. I don't want to presume safety was not a concern. I thought this most interesting.
It does seem that the UAE is behind the times in terms of child safety, (and really safety in general) especially to be a nation with so many resources and educational opportunities. I did see something the other day that really got next to me just from the sheer stupidity of it. I was waiting on a taxi in front of my house one afternoon and observed a school bus pull off the side of the road to drop off a child. The driver was trying to be concientous and got out of the bus with the child, took her by the hand, and walked her across the street to her home. However, since he had pulled off the road opposite her home on the left hand side of the street on a one-way, the traffic was behind the bus. He stupidly walked her in front of the bus---not behind it where he could see the oncoming traffic and the oncoming traffic could see them. So he stepped out into the street in front of the bus holding her hand right into three lanes of traffic. He quickly jumped back and cars began to slow down and stop but what he did was very dangerous. The locals drive like maniacs----no kidding---down this road sometimes at breakneck speeds upwards of 60 mph or more (even though it is a residential section). This kind of ignorance just makes me angry. And I believe it is ignorance. The bus drivers are sometimes very uneducated people from third world countries who do not have a sense of the value of life. And on top of that, the Muslims often feel "Insha'Allah" meaning god willing or if it is God's will and do not take special care with themselves, their children or their belongings.
It is not uncommon to see very small children as young as two or three years old playing in the street unaccompanied by an adult. They do not keep reins on them in parking lots or outdoors either. I have seen three year olds riding tricycles on the street with a one year old toddler in diapers toddling along with them and no adult in sight---and it would be dusk or after dark. If it were quiet, cul-de-sac type streets one might not be alarmed. However, even though I live in a quiet, residential section of the city, the local Emirati drive their cars like maniacs. They take off at high rates of speed, turn corners squealing tires, push the gas pedal to the floor from one speed break to the other---which makes it very dangerous for anyone, let alone toddlers, to be near the road. I was walking Graziella once and a young Emirati man and his little daughter, who looked to be about two or three, stopped to pet Graziella (a rare occurrence that I will address in another blog). They stopped in the middle of the road to talk to me. While we were stopped, I caught a glimpse of a fast approaching vehicle. I began to get nervous because he did not have a hold on his child nor did he make any attempt to do so even though the car was approaching and not slowing down. We have been advised by the State Department not to get involved in situations with the Emirati and not to interfere with any kind of domestic situation. However, I finally made up my mind I would grab the child if the car got too close. I know my idea of too close is probably not his idea of too close but I was going to do it anyway for the safety of the child. My luck though he chose to continue their walk and moved on, crossing the road, and moving out of the path of the car. However, he never did reach down and take her hand or any kind of protective measure to prevent her from wandering into the path of this car. I am truly baffled by this lack of concern from parents in this region. Oh and forget car seats and child restraints. No way. The children are all over the car. John and I even saw a baby in a car seat sitting alone in a running SUV outside of the mall the other day. All alone. No one around. The car running. Thank goodness he was in a car seat and thank goodness he was not old enough to crawl out. In America, the police would be called and the parents prosecuted.
I notice more articles and Letters to the Editor are addressing concerns that our country addressed 25 and 30 years ago. For instance, response to fires, litter, traffic fatalities, enforcing traffic laws, health issues, and many more issues are just now being seriously addressed---or at least their seems to be an awareness of the problems associated with these issues. I tend to forget that this country was literally riding camels and living in tents only 50 years ago. Even though they are the richest nation in the world, money doesn't buy common sense.

Back in Abu Dhabi

I have been back in Abu Dhabi since Nov 10 arriving late at night to the excited twisting and hassling of my beloved Graziella and a tired but grinning John. Unfortunately, while I have been off playing in Europe, John has been working six day weeks with long 12 hour days. He is tired and not seeing an end in sight for a while. So he is glad to have me back home again.

My days over the last two weeks have been a little crazy. First things first---a pedicure for my tired, worn out feet---second a cut and color! A day or two of recuperating and then off to the races. We are planning to host a Thanksgiving feast for all of John's office and all of the people who have traveled over to Abu Dhabi to work with John for about 8 weeks. Latest head count was 33 people!!!!

Shopping in Abu Dhabi can be mind boggling because there is so much----or so little. Depends on what you are trying to buy! Grocery shopping can be a challenge on any day. When you are shopping for a special "American" feast, it becomes more so! The stores are aware of many of the expatriate holidays that are celebrated in their city and do try to stock many of the items. The challenge is that all the stores do not stock everything you need. Abu Dhabi has several big grocery stores like Super Walmart or a big Publix---only it is Carrefour and Lulu's Hypermarket. They also have smaller stores that remind me of the small town groceries where I grew up---Abela's and Spinney's. Now they have several of these stores throughout the city. Just because one of the chains has an item does not mean one of their other stores has it. So if you are looking for something, you must check them all. I have spent the last two weeks literally trudging from one store to the next looking for such items as: pumpkin, cranberry sauce, marshmallows, buttermilk, flavorings, frozen pie shells, graham crackers, to name a few. I looked for pumpkin four days in a row. Cranberry sauce has been searched for over 7 days. I finally found cranberry sauce.....guess where?.....in the sauces.....next to the barbeque sauce and worchestershire sauce......I died laughing when I finally found my cranberry sauce! What a funny place to put it---but when you don't know what it is, then the sauces make sense! Frozen pie shells do not exist here so I am, for the first time in my life, making my own pie crust dough and rolling it out the old fashioned way. I went today and bought a rolling pin---not to be used to hit John over the head but to roll out my pie crust. Tomorrow I tackle this endeavor and make the first pumpkin pie. If all goes well, I will make the other three. The graham crackers came from the little shoppette on the base---John found these. Buttermilk is not to be found, although Shirly the housemaid swears that previous employers have found it. I couldn't find it and finally just got tired of looking! Today I made the trip to do the final buying of all the fresh vegetables. I also got the eggs today for the deviled eggs. The last thing will be some kind of bread. I'll buy that on Wednesday or Thursday. Since everyone has to work on Thursday until late in the day our Thanksgiving Feast is going to be held on Friday.

I had an open house on Thanksgiving in 2002 when John's squadron was deployed and hosted dinner for 30 people. I had people there I had never met before!!! People (mostly the wives and children of the squadron; a few straggler squadron members who were left behind for one reason or another; and a couple of new pilots that came in while the others were deployed) began arriving at 10:00 bringing plates of food. The last person left that night at 10:00. What a wonderful day we all had! I still have people write me and mention that dinner on occasion and remember what a good day it was! It means so much to military members to have a traditional Thanksgiving when they are far from home. And especially to be able to have one in someone's home surrounded by your "military family."

Most of the people who will be attending our festivities on Friday are far from home away from loved ones. It gives me so much pleasure to plan this meal and open my home to all of these hardworking folks. Most of them are working very long hours six and seven days a week! When they sent out the invitation in the office, the flyer read "Traditional Home Cooked Thanksgiving Meal." The crew is looking forward to having a little piece of "home" at the Owens' residence on Friday. I can't wait!

Busy days are ahead for me and Shirly as we prepare for Friday. She laughed today after she unpacked today's groceries saying just looking at all the food made her tired! She knows how many potatoes we have to peel!!!! We have one turkey to bake on Thursday and another one on Friday; many onions and peppers to chop; tea to make; and, of course, all the sweets to make. I'll be making my Mother's Holiday Cranberry Mold and John's Mother's Cherry Delight and Pumpkin Pie. I have my own version of Pecan Pie to stir up. Shirly is adding her touch with a fruit jello mold and a caramel pudding. It's exhausting but so worthwhile. I'll see more smiles on Friday than I have all year long. What satisfaction.

I'll tell you all about it next week!

Les Miserables

Monsieur Victor Hugo totally amazed me with his book Les Miserables, one of his great novels for which he is chiefly remembered. Over the last few days, every time I stopped in a café for wine or café au lait, or went to Jardin de Luxembourg, I pulled the small copy of this book out of my purse and read a chapter or two until I managed to finish. The book is a vivid illustration of the working class and poor of nineteenth century France. The main character is able to rise from poverty into great wealth but not without many trials and tribulations. I was so reminded of Dickens’ classic novels which dealt with much the same subject matter. And as so often found in Dickens work, the main character meets the same people over and over throughout the novel in various forms and their lives are very intimately entwined over an expanse of years. It is sometimes a very brutal observation of the unfortunate position of poverty and what it meant to be in that class of people in the early nineteenth century in Europe. The book is a vivid sketch of the fine line between refinement and criminality and how one can be driven to the latter how of sheer necessity to live. Of course, it has a very dramatic end which is the theme of Romanticism. It makes for captivating reading. Not sure why I never read any of Hugo's work. I am now a dedicated fan.

Mass at Notre Dame

I made my way down Rue Decartes crossed Rue Ecoles; then crisscrossed into a couple of back streets and popped out on Boulevard Saint Germain just across the river from Notre Dame Cathedral. When I was only a few blocks away, I heard the peal of the bells as they were announcing Mass and my feet immediately stepped up the pace. I am staying only a ten minute walk from Notre Dame but I knew the crowds would be arriving along with me.

I was not to be disappointed as the line to enter the cathedral was all the way across the square that lies at the foot of the front door. After standing in this line for about five minutes I realized that most of these people were tourists aiming to walk through the cathedral not attend Mass. I observed some locals cutting through the gates at the door walking past the patrons in the line and making their way inside for Mass. I swiftly followed them. My guess had been correct.

Now let me describe the mayhem that ensues during Mass at Notre Dame. The parish ropes off the cathedral in the middle where Mass attendees are separated from the hords of people who are walking through the cathedral. This is my one complaint. They allow tourists to continue to walk around the cathedral while Mass is in process. I disagree with this and wish the church would close the cathedral to tourists during Mass. It’s only about 45 to 60 minutes and surely the people can wait. The tourists stand behind the ropes and gawk and take photos as if it is a three ring circus on display for their viewing pleasure instead of a Holy Communion. Some of them also go into the roped off area attempting to attend the service but give themselves away by taking video and photos during the Mass. At least the church tries to maintain a manner of sacredness as they have ushers who walk around and quietly tell these people to put their cameras away. The church even has signs with pictures of cameras with a red line crossed through it showing that no photos are allowed during the service. People sometimes amaze me. Is nothing sacred?

Now that I have that out of my system, let me say that it is a beautiful Mass. The acoustics in this Cathedral are absolutely wonderful so the voices of the choir sound so “angelic.” The procession into the church is quite beautiful also. The choir enters first wearing royal blue robes singing an anthem as they go and make their way towards the huge cross behind the altar. Of course, the organ is a huge pipe organ in the rear alcove of the church and practically vibrates the seats when it is played loudly. And it is played loudly. The church is always dimly lit with the alter bearing a large cross which is illuminated. It is quite majestic.

At 11:30 each Sunday Notre Dame holds an international Mass which has readings in French and English; sometimes a portion is in German. The program is written mostly in French but has some English translations. Usually the Gospel reading is written in English. However, it is spoken in French. I felt really good today as I could follow the written French version of the Gospel and keep up by recognizing words. I even managed to sing a bit in French when the cantor led the congregation in a Response that was written in the program.

I have been to Mass at Notre Dame almost every time I have visited Paris, and it is always a special time for me. I never fail to get emotional when I attend. The emotion does not transpire from feeling close to God because it is extremely hard to feel any holiness in the spectacle that is going on while you are there. Emotion surges up in me because it reminds me of how small and trivial I truly am in the grand scheme of things. I always think of my meager roots in this world having been born and raised in a little “podunk” town called Adel, Georgia to a social worker and a used car salesman. Having been the salt of the earth kind of people who worked hard for their money and lived through many difficult times, they kindly passed on this ethic of hard work and strength that embodies my soul and makes me who I am today. The tears sting my eyes when I realize how truly blessed I am to have come from such a place and to be standing in one of the world’s greatest cathedrals. It is something many cannot boast. However, this experience does not cause me to be boastful but more humble. The emotions well and fill me up.

I have mixed feelings about the way Mass is handled at Notre Dame. I do understand their reasons but none the less I believe it takes away from the sacredness and the holy experience the Mass should be. When the Lector made his announcements at the end of the service and told us to go in peace, the crowd immediately rushed to the front with cameras high above their heads flashing pictures of the cross and the altar. It was somewhat absurd. Absolutely no reverence was observed. Many of the devout remained in their seats to meditate and kneel for prayer which is what it is suppose to be----not a tourist attraction. There are the usual souvenir stands inside the church door full of overpriced rosaries, books, crosses, and other relics. It is a way for the church to support the upkeep and still allow the thousands of people to filter through each day at no charge. At least they do not charge a fee to see this beautiful cathedral. I do assume that the church receives the proceeds of the sales and not the Maire de Paris.

Let me reiterate that even with all the crowds and flashing cameras the experience is still special if you block all of it out and concentrate on why you are there. I do not remember noticing it as much during past visits since I was seated in the middle or back area of the Cathedral. Today I happened to enter when the escorts had just filled up the middle and began to seat to the sides and I secured a front row seat. I was able to see more of the crowds beyond the ropes and observe how they stopped to film and photograph the service. The people continued to talk and point, etc. with little regard to what was really going on at the moment---Holy Communion.

I am always glad and have a feeling of satisfaction when I attend Mass at Notre Dame. It is a special experience that I hope I have the opportunity to do many times in my lifetime.

Renoir Exhibition

I began my Saturday at Café Delmas on the Rue Moufftard drinking my café au lait and eating my croissant. I spent a leisurely morning enjoying the area and avoiding the rain. After lunch, I took off to the Palais Royal for a Renoir Exhibition and a Treasures of Istanbul Exhibition.

Paris is so cool. While waiting in line at the Palais Royal (which happened to be a long one in cold weather and drizzling rain!) I had the pleasure of enjoying a serenade by a wonderful clarinet player. People often set up on the streets here to play their music and place a hat or box at their feet for donations. It is so wonderful. I never see much money in their tip box so I don’t think they do it for the money. I believe it is for the love of the music. I had already seen this same man playing in the metro tunnel. Yes, people set up in the metro tunnels and play. It is so lovely to hear a saxophone or a clarinet or a voice singing in the distance while you are in the tunnel waiting for the train. It echos and makes a beautiful sound.

The Palais Royal hosts a prestigious exhibition devoted to Pierre-Auguste Renoir, bringing together a stunning collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures from the latter period of the artist's extensive career. On loan from public and private collections worldwide and complemented by works from Picasso, Maillol, Matisse and Bonnard, the exhibition invites visitors to discover a less well-known oeuvre by Renoir, a body of work reflecting a softer, more modern approach in style, form and technique, particularly apparent in his series of nudes. The exhibition also includes works on loan from his own son Claude Renoir, who was often the subject of many of his father’s famous works.

I thoroughly enjoyed viewing this large collection. It also included sculptures cast in bronze. I never realized he did sculpture. I also learned that he had severe rheumatoid arthritis in his later years and was confined to a wheel chair. They had a silent film of him working during his late years. His hands were so twisted he could not pick up a brush. He had assists with him that place the brush in his hand. He could still mix the paint and stroke the canvas but they had to place and remove the brush in his hand. He also worked on very large canvas and had difficulty in his later years reaching the tops of the canvas. He devised some kind of easel that would raise and lower the canvas to the level where he needed to work.

He was truly a Master.

Right or Left Etiquette

Isn’t there a rule of Etiquette about which side of the street to walk or which side of the staircase to climb? I have always been under the impression one walks on the RIGHT side of anything. Not so in Europe. It seems to me they walk all over the place. I may stray from time-to-time and find myself ambling along absentmindedly on the wrong side of the street but I most certainly straighten myself and get back on the RIGHT side when I realize this error. What is one to do when the 20 people walking toward you are scattering to the wind because they are confused about which side of the crosswalk they should occupy? Some people are very confident and stride directly towards you and seem annoyed that you are in their way----but remember I am on the RIGHT side of the crosswalk. Then, there are those people who just seem terribly confused. They walk towards you, then go left, then go right, then go left, and then I start moving LEFT even though I know that I should be RIGHT. You do this dance with them and then they utter “pardon.” There are street signs for everything else. Why not have a street sign that says “walk to the right” “keep right” or something? This would certainly help the Europeans walk on the right side.