A Diwali Potpurri

First Writing

THE FOLLOWING WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ITS OWN POST--A FEW DAYS BACK:

I find myself always winding my way down to the water, while I wait for A to finish her ballet class.  The breeze here is amazing--complimented by the sounds of the waves plunking and thudding against the marina--almost like being on a boat!

The temperature, when you are out of the sun and in a breeze as I am now--perfect!

Today was a really busy day.  I checked out the services of the Capital Health Screening Centre--it is visa renewal time again!  I was very impressed with the new company--at every point it was much better than the original.  The location, next to the Al Jazira Stadium (tower a)--great--not in the heart of the city, for us suburbanites.  The parking lot--well--I accidentally parked in the bus lot, so I had a lot of extra space!  Up the elevator, greeted by staff who asked for my appointment number, and gave me a ticket (9064)--and then directed me to the ladies waiting area seats...which did have a few lads in them.  And some of the people forgot their deodorant that morning...but after about 10 minutes I was through to some more waiting...which was minimal.  As soon as I sat down and settled in to read my nook, I was called to get up into another line.  Blood test--check (bless the nurse for using the smallest needle she could find--at my request--and nailing it in on her first try!).  X-ray--check!  Good-bye!  I barely had time to read a thing!

Malou was surprised when I returned home before noon.  Ms. Magoo was very happy to wake up from her nap and find me home.  Door-to-door--in under two and a half hours --including 25 minutes driving time each way.  Much better than the experiences we have had in the past.  Not sure if making an appointment helped (mine was for 9:44)--but it seemed I was moving as fast as everyone else.  Way to go Abu Dhabi--good system improvement!

Today has been a busy day with a lot of in and out.  Out for visa process,  out to give A lunch dose of antibiotics, out to pick -up the pickle (who actually requested to go pee BEFORE we left the classroom--hurray!), out to help A transfer over to her ECP (fun with food) with minimal stress, out again to pick her up (where I ran into my friend Yeen who gifted me some of her most delicious scones!), and out again for ballet.  So--my eyes are burning a bit and I don't really want to do anything tonight.

Except just enjoy this breeze!

Above: Daddy's Famous Stuffing
Below:  Making Crust for Pumpkin Pie

I have been worried a lot lately...the big ones are ISIS and Ebola...what's a world supposed to do?  I wish I had a time machine so I could travel to the future and see how these things get resolved.

Dr. Ana and the cavity

Other little worries melted away a bit when I picked Pickle up from school today.  As we were walking to the car, I noticed that I had his hand in my left and he had Magoo's hand in his left--they were holding hands! They would let go, for one of them to push back a hat, or brush a hair out of their faces, and then reach naturally for one another again.  It was a sweet moment...a memory I want to keep...

Cutest cats!

BUT I DIDN'T FIND THE TIME TO POST IT!!

Instead, it comes to you along with my best wishes for Diwali--the festival of lights.  Lighting up all the darkness in our lives--vanquishing fear and hate--with love and light.  

Little things make little ones so happy--
Thanks Aunty Aumi!

After hunting around (in the car and on the phone), I feel so lucky to have finally found these boxes--coming right to my doorstep, through little A's classroom.  Every year they run out!!  THIS year we managed to participate!  All our little ones packed their own boxes (their own way).  This is a great way to teach the little ones to help out those who are less fortunate.

THIS, on the other hand, is NOT a great way to help out those who are less fortunate (though if you want to contribute, please send something to the number listed).  I never received anything like this when I was in Canada...does it happen now?

We will be heading out to the Peppermill tonight for a family Diwali dinner.  Abu Dhabi has disappointed me with their lack of child-friendly Diwali offerings this year.  The Indian Cultural Society has a function that begins at 8 pm...and none of the Indian restaurants are doing anything--SHAME!!
I am off to Lulu to do my part.  Looking for diyas to give out to A's classmates--teacher gifts have already been distributed.

Thanks Dharmvir!

With our rangoli 

ROAR!

Rose--here is the homework assignment we promised you would get completed over the Eid break:

Last year when A took Choral (as an ECP--Extra-curricular programming), she LOVED it.  I have always loved singing myself, and so I was thrilled that she shared this with me.  It was one of the few activities that I didn't have to push her to attend.  She sang at school events, with pride.

She was also exposed to different music, and one of her favourite songs was Katy Perry's "Roar".  I confess, when I was sitting outside the class waiting for her to finish, I had no idea what the song was, and googled the lyrics ('eye of the tiger' made my ears prick up--80's kid).  Thus, after many years of KP being on the scene...she finally had my attention (through the ears of my six year old).

Ms. Karen did not show Katy's video in class ('b/c some of your mummies and daddies wouldn't appreciate it').  I you-tubed it and did not object to the 'you-tarzan-me-Jane' costume, complete with the overflowing cuppage.  Little A and I spend a lot of time talking about real faces and bodies, and photoshop--lots of images of 'with no make-up'...b/c the world she grows up in will be very different from my own.  I appreciated the empowerment theme--though I think little A likes this song b/c she thinks it is about befriending tigers...

Fast forward to the present: her teacher gave her a homework assignment to find a song that makes her feel happy.  She picked KP's "Roar," and last week daddy filmed her singing the song.  THIS week's homework required her to choreograph a dance to her happy song....


SO...please enjoy the above video.

Consider it my Eid gift to the world!

My Summer Holiday

Seriously--grab a drink for this one...you'll thank me at the end.

This summer, we all flew back to Canada.  It felt wonderful to reconnect with so many of our friends--and family too (which should go without saying).

The travel itself was not hard--but it was awfully long, and that in itself can become a hardship.

Watch this little video I made of our trip from Abu Dhabi to Orlando (which essentially took us about 26 hours, door-to-door).  We arrived in Florida around midnight, and were seen shopping at the 24 hour grocery around 1 AM (with all three kids alert and singing).  Business class is not a hardship, by any stretch of the imagination--the children were great and well-behaved the whole flight.  I was perturbed to discover a grey hair (the first I have ever found) in the bathroom mirror, on our first leg of travel--damn french braids!


Abu Dhabi to Orlando
(**Warning--I haven't upgraded to the PAY version of the replay app--and the music is slightly annoying--but a lot of cute pics of the kids counterbalance it.**)  

I really enjoyed Orlando.  Florida was a lot more green and lush than I remember.  I got to finally see the words "Spanish moss" and "magnolia" come to life, travel to one of the groves that produces the orange  juice we buy in Abu Dhabi (what we were thinking was a knock-off Tropicana box--called Florida's Natural), and of course, the highlight of our trip was celebrating little A's seventh birthday with FIREWORKS (as we had always hoped for our fourth of July baby girl) at DISNEYWORLD!  We were lucky enough to be joined by our most favourite college student (now a University gal at UCLA), Jasmine.  Jasmine and I both did a lot of work with our hands this holiday--she was the balloon artist, and me--I worked with gauze ;-)...lots and lots of never-ending gauze....Our dear friends from West Palm Beach also drove up to spend some time with us--we all get along fabulously and it was thrilling to see the love carry on through to the next generation.

Monster Truck

Anthony and the banana spider

Magnolia

Three princesses

Until next time--the Hillbergs

Princess tea time

Ready for my birthday fireworks!

Resurrecting Disney

Ready for F1

It's a Small World was
Magoo's favorite ride--at the end she stood up and shouted
"Again! Again!"

Go Bruins!!

From Orlando, we flew to Calgary, via Houston.  We pretty much spent an entire day in transit--why can't they have a connecting flight? (hint:  probably something to do with Air Canada and their monopoly being threatened...oh wait...we don't have monopolies in Canada...put THAT in the 'things that make you go hmmmmmm' box...).  We stopped in Calgary for a night, and then head off to Edmonton the next morning.

Celebrating A's bday in Calgary

Grandpa's backyard--with Grandpa's special tools

Looks just like daddy--but hairless!

JPP Class of '93 reunion

Discovering dandelions

Lunch with the Boers

Peter spent about two weeks in Edmonton with us, and then went back to Abu Dhabi.  While he was gone, we spent the time in Calgary.

With the cousins

A gift from Grandma to Naniji

Mushroom pickers

My favourite day--Big Hills Spring Park (thanks Andrea!)

Here is another little video to share what we got up to while we were there:

Six weeks in Canada

(**NB:  the music is the same and just as annoying).  

I really enjoyed the time with my family.  Our simple days involved dog-walking, raspberry picking, trips to the library and nearby playgrounds, and joining the Cookie Club at Superstore.  We managed to also see so many friends, more than we were expecting!  And the summer storms--ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!  I LOVED them!  Only could have been better if I had a quiet room, a blanket and a NAP!  I managed to become a runner, for one month, running regularly around my brother's neighbourhood.  Calgary is a beautiful city--even a former Edmontonian such as myself has to admit it.  I celebrated my ten year wedding anniversary with my three lovelies in the Canmore Butterfly Spray Park--we had a blast!  And we managed to win over the heart of one very stubborn little pomeranian (yes--I am talking about you Snuggles!).

And then we drove back to Edmonton again--and it was quite emotional for me, because I knew it meant my time with my parents was almost done--just a few more days at the end of the trip, before we were gone again.  However, we had some more friends to catch up and THE FAMILY REUNION (in capitals to express its importance).  

Count 'em!

BFF's

Make way for the ducklings...

Clowin' cousins

yawn or roar?  you be the judge

From Edmonton, back to Calgary, and then onwards to Ontario.  There we saw the Niagara Falls, stayed in cottage country, in Muskoka, and then spent some time in Toronto, before heading back home.

row, row, row your boat...

Girls of summer

marhmallow masters

ribbit

Then it was back to Abu Dhabi, where we were launched immediately into our old lives, complete with starting school (one week late!).  This meant no transition for Pickle--who was started EY1 (FKA Pre-K) at little A's school.  Magoo suffered the worst jet-lag (and by association, I suffered along-side her as her go-to person...).  Thus cementing for me why we don't go back home every summer...it was a rough week back...

So--thank-you for getting this far in the "My Summer Holiday" entry.

For everyone who made our time back in North America so memorable--our families and friends--I thank-you!  Thank-you for all the lunches, the dinners, the coffees...for all your time, and for picking it all up so easily...just where we left off, six years ago...

For Malou, who gave me the two hours I needed to update this blog, I thank-you too!

Eid Mubarak!

Happy Anniversary!

So--it seems fitting to be updating my blog today--as little A and I celebrate the six year anniversary of our move to Abu Dhabi.  It seems that we turned up here, on October 1, 2008, at an obscenely early hour of the morning.  I remember being so exhausted, after the 14 hour flight from Toronto--with no sleep--and little A--who was a sweet ball of energy and a wonderful and happy flier.  We had left our comfortable and safe life, back in Canada, for the adventure of the unknown--the Middle East!

I didn't even have the energy to look out the window--and when I did (at the urgence of an older lady who had befriended me in the last few hours of the flight) my brain only registered the peachy orange color of sand below us.
I remember the carousel of lights that greeted me in the airport -- I was so overwhelmed by the people, the noise and the chaos.  "Purpose of your visit?" the Emirati immigration officer asked--"To live" I remember replying.  

I remember coming thru the gates and seeing Peter (and Pete M--who has grown to become an solid member of our Abu Dhabi family).  Little A was just walking at that point and holding my finger--and we didn't know what kind of PDA would be acceptable--so we kept it minimal.

George Michael was on the front page of the first edition (ever) of the Abu Dhabi week magazine--a weekly paper that has become a major source of information for most of us living in Abu Dhabi's capital (though originally it was mostly advertising with the odd article tucked in between).  With my love of GM at the time, I took this as a good omen--not only was he welcoming me in paper, but he himself would be in town for his "retirement concert" (one of many to come)--which I would attend--to croon my welcome in person (thanks again George-through it all, I still think you're amazing!).

From the vault--first day in Abu Dhabi

Walking on the Corniche

I remember it being soooo hot (at 7 am) and taking off Amara's socks before tucking her into Pete's white car (of which there have been a few over the years).  We drove "home", to the Millennium Hotel on Khalifa Street, on Airport Road, and I saw the Sheikh Zayed bridge being built.  At the time it looked like two dolphins jumping out towards one another from the island to the main land.  I never expected to be around here long enough to see it completed much less to have it become my favourite route onto and off the island.

Little A--the little baby who only really just started walking when she landed here--is now back to dancing--and in ballet as I write.  I am sitting alongside the gulf, at the back of Al Bandar--probably the site of all that orange peachy sand I saw when I peeped out the window of the plane, enjoying an amazing breeze--not the heat of our first days here back in '08 (truly an unusually hot fall). The waves are thudding along and muffling the Tagalog conversation of the Bricco cafe employees taking a break behind me.  This is my 'normal' now.  Cities that rise out of the sand... 

Our lives have changed so much.  I continue to struggle with some of the challenges that Life has thrown me.  However, I have indeed fulfilled my promise "to live"  in Abu Dhabi.  Three moves, two more babies, and one Arabian Mau later, we have definitely accepted a place that will never be our home-land, as our home.

I have no idea when our time here will end. Or when it does, where we will go next.  We have watched so many people come and go here--our social landscape, changes almost as quickly as the physical one!

I just wanted to take a moment....

This was our old backyard...
but would THIS be our family photo
had we stayed?

To India and Back

“India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay.” 
― Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor--you are TOO wise!

Pickle's prep

We prepared a great deal for our trip to India (April 17-28).  We tried to get Malarone for everyone, but the drugs were very difficult to procure, even with a prescription, and the only pharmacy in Abu Dhabi (possibly the UAE) carrying it was out.  I really appreciated when the receptionist at SKMC (our best hospital) looked at me and said "Why are you worrying about malaria in India?  You should be worried about coronavirus! We have had six cases in this hospital and one person has died!".  Suffice it to say, the next time we visited the hospital, post-holiday, we went like this:

MERS free zone

Our OCI cards arrived just in time, and we got our jabs painfully up-to-date (I probably have enough Hep A vaccine running through my body to last me two life-times, as I don't give the same care to my own vaccination records as I do my children's).

We spent a whole day shopping for Indian clothes--the Label 24 shops in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai got to feel the smooth swipe of my Visa, as we bought everything we needed (I ended up with one extra saree--no matter--I will find a place to wear it).

The kids seem to be seasoned travellers now, and were very patient in the lounge and in all the lines to get on the plane.  I had to chuckle when I realized that we were the most "Indian" looking people on the plane, as everyone else seemed to be in jeans and t-shirts (apparently the NEW national dress of India).

Archie, Betty and Veronica go to India

When I was very small, I remember watching a movie about an Indian westerner (like myself) who returned to India.  Upon disembarking from the plane, the traveller questions "what is that terrible smell??", and is informed, that smell is INDIA.  Suffice it to say, for many, many years I have prepared myself for that mystery smell (which I have always assumed will smell like sewage waste), and I was sooooo thrilled when I got off the plane in Delhi (and onto the bus that was shuttling us to the main building), to only experience the smell of jet fuel and rubber tires.  Shame on that movie, which also gave me the phrase "ulla ka patha", which I never needed to bust out on this trip.

The Delhi airport was very clean and we managed to circumvent the line-up and go through the special assistance line.  With three children, they did not question us--possibly wanting to get us out as fast as possible.  They did, however, give grief to the Indian lady behind me who showed up with ONE child (and about 8 adults).  I enjoyed translating the argument.  Ultimately, after some pleading, and grouching, they all went through the line behind us.  They were told not to do that again.  This discussion made me realize that I had a much better grasp of Hindi than watching Bollywood movies in the 1980's (VERY briefly) had led me to believe.

We had a driver waiting, from the Shangri-la hotel in Delhi, to take us back to the hotel.  We drove through some construction, past the India Gate, the embassies area and the house of the Prime Minister.  The British influence in design was quite blatant.  The driving (also British-style on the WRONG side of the road) was crazy (though probably the most civilized we would see in any of the cities we visited).  We discovered quite early that horns were used to say "I am behind you and want to get past--move OVER!", instead of as an expletive (as they are often used in the west).  Most of the trucks were painted with the words "Horn please" to indicate that they would move over and give way, if someone was in a hurry (which we apparently were, wherever we went!).

At the Shangri-la, I was welcomed with red roses (for my birthday!!), a reunion with my friend Aum, and meeting my cousin Bittu (ahem--Manohar Lal Vasdev), his wife (Kavita) and son (Saurab) for the first time. They had taken a train from Punjab (an entire day's travel in India) to come and see me.  He was the only member of my family I would meet on this trip (which was not meant to exclude anyone--however we were not prepared to travel with our three small children to the village areas of India--and thus purposely kept our visit low key).  We had birthday cake and tea in the lounge, and I tried my best to act as a bridge between my Punjabi-only relatives and my English-only family.

Family Reunion

After a night in Delhi, we head off the next morning to Agra, where we stayed at the Oberoi hotel.  Everyone was blessed with a tikka at the door.  The children all learned to say "Namaste" and "dhanyavad" to everyone they met.

Welcome to the Oberoi

I must confess, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque has spoiled me for the Taj Mahal.  I know--one is a mosque and one is a tomb--but they are very similar architecturally--and the mosque here is so sparkly and new...and I see it almost EVERY DAY...but I do appreciate the history (or...the story?) behind the Taj.

I think possibly the highlight of my Agra trip was seeing the monkey on our balcony.  I LOVE monkeys, and we coaxed this one down from the roof with an apple, which he promptly ate and discarded the peel down below.

One day, I will take my family back to the Taj and make a sunny-day memory there.

The road from Agra to Jaipur was bumpy and slow--but our driver Samer Singh (who had his arm bashed in by the overzealous workers at the Shangri-la hotel) got us through safely and quickly to his home turf--Rajasthan!!  The greeting at the Fairmont--with drummers, trumpets and rose-petals floating from the heavens--was fitting of a Bollywood movie.  The kids were sleeping in the van (all three of them)--what a wake up call!

Upon our arrival, we had the lounge to ourselves, and made ourselves at  home.  Sandeep (and Ashwini the next day) made us feel very welcome and the children warmed up to them very quickly.  The next day, we head out to this FANTASTIC elephant adventure.  We got to be up-close-and-personal with two elephants, Muskaan (who I considered "MY elephant) and Musakali.  Musakali was definitely the most active and playful of the two and even managed to give a few belly-slaps to Pickle and the Magoo.  We had elephant bonding time, riding, lunch (which was very hygienic and tasty), followed by painting and bath-time.  We were even able to modify the activities to fit our schedule for the little ones.  Thanks to my husband--for researching and discovering this amazing activity in Jaipur--and thanks to Rahul for creating such a unique, safe and touching experience for us in India!

Belly smack!

The next day, Ajay's family started arriving in Jaipur (Peter managed to spot out his brother AND sister when they were registering--good eye!).  They were a really nice group, and took Aum and I along on their trip to the Bhappu Market, where I picked up a few last minute items for our trip (shoes for Peter and dresses for the girls).  We rushed home, only to discover that the event was operating on IST and that our evening party at the Maharani Bagh Farm (just the extremely decadent farm that has been in the family for generations) was starting at 9 (instead of 6:30).  Unfortunately, by the time I put the kids to bed and got dressed, Peter had undressed and was lying with chills and a fever in his bed.  Had it been just me, I might have packed it in--but my 'date', little A, was all keyed up to go!

I booked the hotel car and was touched to learn that Ajay's dad had sent a driver for me (b/c he knew we would be later than everyone else putting the kids to sleep).  He drove us (and dropped us back) safe and sound from the pre-wedding party.  The highlight of my evening was being asked by a little girl if I was Chinese (apparently Ajay's family was on alert that there would be some Chinese foreigners at the party--I can only imagine she was thinking I was Mandy--my new Asian sister-in-law).

Maharani Bagh

Aided in part by the Motillium I packed, Peter made a speedy recovery.  The next day we moved over to the Rajasthali hotel, the venue of the wedding.  Our tent room was beautiful, and it put us closer to all the wedding activities.

Welcome to the Rajasthali!

Mehndi

Handsome Indian Men

Prince of Rajasthan

All the little Indians

Sharma girls

The following day, we spent recovering from the wedding night, and moving back to the Fairmont hotel.  Though we left around 11:30, the party itself did not end until 3:30--and we got to listen to it, in all it's bhangra Gangnam Style (twice) glory--through the walls of our tent.  We were quite bleary-eyed in the morning (especially those of us--me--who got up with Pickle and Magoo to go for breakfast at 7!).

We took some time to relax, and sleep at the Fairmont.  Upon learning the Kids Club was 'closed for repairs', I requested a pizza making session for my kids (who were once again the only kids around--since the entire wedding group had moved to the Rajasthali hotel).  Chef Gauruv told us the story of the Margerita pizza, and the children 'helped' him make a pizza (by watching very carefully in their hairnets to the side).  They enjoyed themselves regardless, especially when they got to take the pizza upstairs and eat it!

Making Pizza with Chef Gauruv

That night we dolled ourselves up, and left the kids with Aunty Aumi, so we could attend the final function--a second reception, at the family farm.  Although he looks 'damn handsome' in Indian-wear, Peter opted for a more western look for the evening.

On our last day, we toured around the Amer Palace, the Hava Mahal and back to Bhappu Market for some more Indian dresses for the girls (at 3000 rupees....even getting the bait-n-switch like I did didn't hurt so much!).  It was HOT (but not as hot as Abu Dhabi) and we enjoyed one more drive around with Samer Singh.

Hold onto your hats--Amer Palace

A snake-charmer in India--
it does not get any better than that!

 I had a wonderful trip to India (despite some bumps along the way).  I was not a poverty tourist--though I saw a lot of it--and did my best always to look for beauty while I was there.  I found it abound, in the indomitable spirits of all the people we saw living there.  It has been 38 years since I left India (in 1976).  Had it not been for Ajay, and his connections to the motherland, I likely would have not returned so soon.  I am so grateful to Ajay and Isha, and their families for making us feel so welcomed and included in all of their activities.  We met some great people, and had some amazing experiences.  Thank-you to Peter who took the time to organize everything so well, put up my family in the hotel along-side us, and took amazing pictures of our holiday.  Thank-you for your patience, and for loving me so much.

At the risk of sounding like Alanis:

"Thank-you India!  Thank-you Peter! Thank-you Ajay and Iiiiiii-sha!
Thank-you Aum--for all the babysitting!
Thank-you El-e-fan-tastic!"  

Our Rajasthani Royals