Christmas in the UAE

So, I walk into the shopping mall and I am stopped dead by the display set up in the supermarket.  Christmas trees, decorations and twinkling lights everywhere and just beyond that is the camping gear because hey, nothing says Christmas like a bbq in the desert.  It’s really telling how relaxed the UAE is when they don’t mind the glitz of our tackiest holiday crowding their shopping aisles.

I’ve had a pretty good pre-Christmas week.  I started off with fantastic dinner and Choir performance at the Danat Hotel.  They had turkey, prime rib and all the fixings, including a huge gingerbread house.  My friends Sharon and Liz were both in the Choir and were wonderful.  They included the audience for 12 Days of Christmas and the tables had to stand and sing their lines.  We were ‘three French Hens’ which was funny because we had three French Canadians at our table.

This is our table with Sharon in white, hubby Serge in black, me, Louise, her husband  Rak, Linda and her son Lars in back.  Great people to share a table with.

I also did some baking and organized a Secret Santa in our office.  The Emirati ladies participated too which was so fun.  It was all very secular and not meant to be anything other than an excuse to goof-off for a short time on the last day before holidays started.

Then, Sharon and I went to Dubai to visit The Global Village which is a huge international shopping expo dressed up to look cultural by having performers and decorations from each of the countries participating.  India was the best and we both bought ourselves a little something there.  We ate in Morocco and even talked about going to Morocco in March for our next vacation.

And I got my first glimpse of the Burj Khalifa…check out how huge that thing is.

There was a couple of bad things that happened that last bit  before holidays.  My supervisor, who I really like, announced that she’s leaving in June.  Apparently, she’s one of the best supervisors according to my co-workers.  I feel very unstable now with people leaving or being let go.  It’s not a good atmosphere.  On top of that, I had a classroom observation the day before holidays started and the students were wild enough and I was freaked out enough that I blew it.  I don’t think that I’ve taught a class that badly in years.  At this point in my teaching career, I really should be able to ignore what’s happening outside the classroom but it’s difficult…I’m thinking more manicures and massages might help.  

Luckily, I’m on holidays!!!!  So, I’m off to Egypt and Jordan.