This week: newspaper and zoo

Follow this link to read Randy's fourth publication in the Dubai-based newspaper. gulfnews : 10 reasons why school life beats adult life

In other news of the Emirates, one of the country's self-proclaimed 7-star hotels boasts an 11-million-dollar Christmas tree. Randy and I will go to see it tomorrow to get ourselves in the Christmas mood, sometimes a challenge in a Muslim, desert, far-from-home country. AFP: UAE hotel erects 11-million-dollar Christmas tree

Earlier this week, at the request of my students, Anastasia accompanied the girls' field trip to Al Ain Zoo. This was her third trip-a bit rushed- but she seemed to really enjoy the gorilla and giraffes. She repeatedly kissed the gorilla through the glass. If I bothered to go on any of my students' facebook sites, I've heard most of them now use Anastasia with themselves as their profile pic. She was definitely a hit- I had to occasionally settle disputes about who would get her next. All of the attention, along with a total of nearly 4 hours on a bus that day, left her quite tired. She actually slept in the next morning.