We're a long way from home, welcome to the pleasure dome (Frankie Goes To Hollywood)

Wie geht's?

Another trip down the nostalgia path for this post, and a visit to one of my happy places: The Dubai Mall.

Much of life for Jacky and me in the Middle East, and many of our ex-pat friends, revolved around trips to malls. 

While living in Al Ain, we often travelled the hour and a bit north to Dubai to either the BurJuman Centre, the Mall Of the Emirates, or best of all - The Dubai Mall.

It's an amazing place: air conditioned comfort from the heat; a huge variety of eateries and cafes; great shopping - Virgin Megastore and Book World By Kinokuniya; art installations like the water feature above; the huge shark tank; easy parking (once you navigated the roads and knew where to turn off it was a breeze - up until that time it was divorce time for many couples); hundreds of fashion and shoe shops for Jacky; and more. Yes, much more!

I could seriously live in the Dubai Mall: foodmarket on the bottom floor; music; books; bedding departments; rest rooms. What else do you need?

Love and peace - Wozza

Salaam alaikum (peace be upon you)

Wie geht's?

Various things like lockdowns, working from home, and increased family contact with zooms, have given me time to reflect on elements of the past.

That explains why the kids pictures and the caricatures my former students have drawn, have appeared of late.

I sense this theme is going to continue for some time this year as the Covid-19 battle rages on offshore. Nostalgia plays its part to relieve stress.

For the next few posts I thought I'd concentrate on a batch of photos and memories from my picture archive.

At random, today's post is concentrating on...a folder with some snaps from my time as Lead Advisor at Ali bin Ali Taleb School in Al Foah (Al Ain, UAE). 

We're talking 2012.

These were taken at a taboor (an assembly that took place around 7ish each day - before the day's heat got really cracking; for that reason school finished at 1pm each day).

We are caught frozen in time, giving out some maths certificates. I know this because Jan Thomas was the maths advisor at that time, and the guys joining me and Principal Mohammed were the maths teachers.

These were great caring people - the relationships between the boys and the teachers were a great example to us, and our friendships remain - thanks to facebook.

I hope everyone is well back in Al Ain.

Love and peace - Abu Keegan (a.k.a. Mr Warren)

Midnight at the oasis, send your camel to bed (Maria Muldaur)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 11)

The northern Purdy clan gathers at Christine's
for Irene's 90 not out party!

Life in the Al Ain years was good. Really good! Work (as detailed in the previous post was great) but the lifestyle for me and Jacky was terrific as well.

Jacky and her ex pat wife friends used the malls as gathering places. And then they shopped! Suffice to say we brought a lot of stuff home to NZ afterwards - cushions, bedding, shoes, clothes, art work, CDs, stereos, TVs , and so on - A LOT of stuff!

Along the way we had frequent overseas trips: back to NZ and Waiheke Island; to the UK to see Christine, Irene and the rest of the Purdy clan; and memorably the Christmas 2011 trip to London for the most wonderful and gayest Christmas celebration of all time with Patrick/ Randy and their friends.

Wozza and Jade at the
Sheikh Zayed Mosque

Meanwhile back in the UAE, we moved from The Gardens apartments to Yellow Jimi - another enclave of ex pat Cognition workers (think Melrose Place) - we were neighbours of Graeme and Jansy, Pete and Paula, Brett and Margie and Gavin and Noella on the top floor. They were all awesome kiwi friends.

Our downtimes were spent walking (often to the Al Jimi mall), with weekend road trips to Dubai and the Dubai Mall (OMG - I LOVE the Dubai Mall), Mall of the Emirates (playing at Ski Dubai with Jade), Burjuman Centre. We also did frequent road trips to Abu Dhabi (great music store there - Kings Recording), with the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque a constant highlight. We went on tours of Dubai (with visitors like Brian Smith and Jade), Jacky went for frequent riding sessions at the Al Ain equestrian centre (while I walked for an hour around the complex). Camel rides in the desert and visits to Al Ain zoo were great too.

A lot of dates were consumed!

Life in the sandpit  was a full on experience! 

I loved it - the consistently great weather, the people, the sand dunes, the coffee treats in the malls, the shopping, the cheap petrol!

Shame it had to end but the unreal bubble life does have a use by date. By the end, Jacky had had enough extended holiday (she hadn't worked for three years) and it was time for another change. We'd bought a house in Hawke's Bay and I was confident I'd pick up some kind of teaching job - management or just English teaching would have been fine.

With my usual naive spirit of optimism I returned to NZ  in June 2012 (Jacky had left in January to work through possession of the house - Red Phoenix Farm).

The hope was the rambling years were at an end, some stability and security was the thinking. But wait...one more post is needed before that would happen!

Love and peace - Wozza

Here comes the nice (Small Faces)

Rambling Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 10 part 9)

Meanwhile back in Stratford...I was back with the sheep!

When Jacky and I returned to Taranaki in July of 2010 we found the family all geographically spread out. While we were in Stratford, Keegan was at Auckland University doing his masters degree, Adam was at Waikato University, Samantha was either in San Francisco or Wellington with Jesse, and Jade was in Palmerston North doing her nursing degree.

This is how we continue to live - geographically spread out. It's just what we do.

I decided on a few things. First, I'd said farewell to the Indian barbers of our neighbourhood hair cutting souq in central Doha. Cheap - 15 QR, and great if you liked a buzz cut with an upper body massage thrown in and some sweet smelling scent chucked on the bristles. Hygiene wasn't big on their agenda. Actually, it wasn't anywhere on their agenda. But they were cheap!

So - I was growing my hair!

Secondly, I wanted to return to university to work on my doctorate, rather than get another teaching position so I sussed out Massey and Waikato for what they could offer me. Massey were pretty snobby and unhelpful but Waikato were much friendlier so I started planning. 

A PhD in English or education? I was excited.

In the meantime Adam graduated with his music/Japanese centred BA, Jacky went back to work at New Plymouth's Base Hospital. and me? Well - I did house renovations and watched Lost In Space boxed sets!!

Then Cognition rang. There was a contract available in the United Arab Emirates - working as a Lead Adviser in a school in Al Ain - an oasis town of some 400, 000 people in the heart of the desert, about 90 minutes from Dubai heading south.

I said, no thanks! I'm enrolling in the doctoral programme at Waikato University.

Weeks went by. I decided to opt for an Education focus...but...

...the thought of new adventures in the Middle East gnawed away at me. I told Jacky (who already knew what was coming). Cognition rang me back - was I interested yet? This time, I said, YES!

We were heading back to the Middle East for a two year contract, to Al Ain. The rambling days were not done with just yet!

Love and peace - Wozza

These vagabond shoes they are longing to stray (Frank Sinatra)

Many of my Cognition Education friends in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi have come to the end of the contract line and will be winging their way to new locations in the next week. Some are returning to Nu Zild and others are on holidays or making their way to new jobs in new countries.

Io commemorate/celebrate my time working with them I thought I'd head into the archives for this post and dust off some snaps of some happy times in the sandpit. You may wish to check out more of this celebration on a companion post on http://www.baggytrewsers.blogspot.com/

Margie, SWMBO and Louise



Nola with Wozza



Graysy and me at a prefects' meeting



Brain (Minister of Defence) joins me and
Mohammed the librarian at a school BBQ



My 'son' Hamad



Khamis, Hishy, Hassan and Samir



Jan shares a joke



and shows off her jewellery



With my buddy Abdulla 

Love and peace - Wozza

I can't live without the rain that's falling on my head (Status Quo)

We had some dramatic weather last week! Shock horror. Normally it is groundhog day in the desert - which means very hot, very dry (very low humidity) and hazy skies.

We have noticed a temperature change over the last week though. We are now able to go out walking at night without sweat poring off us for one thing.

Shortly after lunch one day last week I peaked outside and noticed some drops of rain. We've experienced about three days since November last year where we have a few spots and then nothing. But last week there was a loudish peal of thunder and then the wind dramatically picked up. Within five minutes we had torrential rain and 40 kph wind.

Given that this extreme weather (for here) is so rare there are no provisions made for it. Surface flooding and uprooted trees were the order of the day. Our bedroom windows couldn't cope with the degree of rain either so we had leakage onto the floor which Jacky attended to (she's a trooper).

I read in the news the next day that this was localised to Al Ain but it was only in the Al Jimi area of the town (where we are now) that had the worst of it.

Jacky and I watched the local kids for a while - they all came out of their houses (that were surely getting leaks) and came into the street to play in the puddles. Because it was seista time they were still in their pjs.

They had great fun splashing around and then getting their bikes out to ride in the water. The pictures of the kids were taken from our spare room and the rest were from our bedroom or the balcony looking onto Khaled Ibn Al Waleed St.

Love and peace - Wozza

Tuesday afternoon, I'm just beginning to see (The Moody Blues)

It is, in fact a Tuesday afternoon. The students went home ages ago (they finish at 1.15 pm) and so have the staff (they finish at 1.16 pm). My advisory team have also left and so my car is alone in the car park. Here it is - we have a little Nissan Tiida hatch that scoots around the streets of Al Ain. Cute huh?

I thought it was probably about time I explained where in the world we are. So here is a map and some touristy info. As you can see Al Ain is about 90 mins drive from Abu Dhabi (going west) and Dubai (going north). We took about 2 hours getting to Abu Dhabi on the weekend because we didn't exheed the 120 kph speed limit and took a breather at a gas station for a coca-cola. And you can see on the map how close we are to the Oman border - I literally drive alongsiide it to get home.

The touristy bit:

Characterized by resplendent, red-hued sand dunes and a magnificent expanse of towering mountains, the city of Al Ain has much to offer during UAE holidays. Less two hours from bustling Dubai, Al Ain is one of the largest cities in the UAE and officially part of the Abu Dhabi Emirate. Glimpses of bountiful sand dunes through the tree lined highway toward Al Ain UAE affords excellent scenery on a drive toward the city.

There are many Al Ain attractions to explore during a visit to the city. After a hearty breakfast at one of the many great Al Ain restaurants, there are many things to do that will easily fill up the days quickly. Al Ain has long been a destination for many sheikhs of the UAE who enjoy the cooler temperatures as a welcome respite from the rest of the country’s muggy coastal humidity. Aside from the well-appreciated microclimate enjoyed during an Al Ain vacation, the many forts, some still in ruins and others well-restored, are part of a series of archaeological sites visitors can tour. UAE’s history shines through among these ruins, revealing age-old settlements which once thrived in the area.

Also known as the “Garden City of the Gulf” the oases provides ample amounts of water to the region allowing for many scenic parks and manicured gardens to flourish with lush, exotic plants. The vibrant and blooming city is yet another reason why so many choose to visit. It offers a beautiful contrast from the often stark and arid desert landscape. Though the coastal cities such as Umm Al Quwain and Sharjah carry a more tourist feel, Al Ain UAE has a more traditional Arabic atmosphere, affording a more authentic UAE experience. Points of interest include the Camel Souk, or market, camel races, the Al Ain Museum and the Ain Al-Faydhah Resort, a facility filled with innumerable kinds of entertainment.

We're off to Abu Dhabi for the weekend (staying at Aussie Dene's swanky downtown crib) so I'll take some pictures of that for the next entry.

Okay - time for me to get into the Tiida and drive home.

Love and peace - Wozza