36 Thunder Pigeons

We have some pigeons who have decided to nest outside our window- see the mother on nest, and father watching from above. Their nest is right at Anastasia's eye-level, so she gets a reality nature show every day. There are 2 eggs. We were really looking forward to hatching and babies, but a friend told of her experience and thus we are now excited/
trepidatious about the possible outcome. She had a nest outside her window too; the eggs hatched, the mother abandoned the chicks and they watched the babies starve. We're hoping for the "new life" lesson only. BTW- on Anastasia's back is a sticker from the grocery that says "Buy One, Get One Free." Guess who put that there?

Other excitement outside our windows includes the rain we had yesterday. This winter seems (to me- Christine) warmer and wetter than our last. We have had a few light rains. Last night Randy even saw some lightning and we heard some thunder. That was our first of either since moving here in August 2007. Remember how high schools make thunder for plays? That is exactly what it sounded like: a high-pitched tinny sound. Very different from the deep, rolling thunders of home. Maybe this summer Anastasia can hear what that thunder sounds like too.

Randy turned 36 on Friday. We met several friends at Chili's for an early lunch. Anastasia finally wore her "barf" dress with success. (In the photo I believe she knows I'm about to take away the sugar packet that she's getting dangerously close to munching through.) Later on, he tutored an Egyptian student and I hung out with her family. We have visited this family before and the youngest daughter was very excited to see Anastasia again. This is one of my few opportunities to actually hang out with an Arab woman, so I always look forward to what the conversation might involve. This time Obama, what we pay our nanny, how white Randy came from what she understands to be a black South, and what exactly zaatar is were all topics of discussion. They had made a cake and when I mentioned it was Randy's b-day, it became a birthday cake. So they sang "Happy Birthday" in English and Arabic for him. This week we will go see the comedy group "Axis of Evil" featuring Ahmed Ahmed to wrap up the birthday celebrations. I'm hoping Randy will make a post about that :)

And finally, an "only-in-the-UAE" moment I had this week. Our school-community liason (who deals with the royal and really rich of our school) asked me if I could tutor a girl in math for exams. I said I would give it a try, but that we would have to work around Anastasia's schedule. So, I go home and then am picked up for tutoring after I have a chance to feed her again. For this family that meant being picked up in a silver Mercedes-Benz limo. Which door would you get in if approached by a limo for a tutoring job? I chose the middle section, which seemed to be a good choice. I was in my own row of seats but could still talk to Ayoob the driver. After introductions, we both sort of just chilled in our own worlds, but as we drove past the school, then off the island, and continued toward Dubai, I started to wander "where in the hell is this guy taking me?!" The answer: Al Bahia, which is about half-way to Dubai. So I tutored for almost 2 hours and rode for 1.5 hours. Not sure if this job is going to work out :(

That's all I've got.