Dubai Mall....the Galleria on Steriods!

We ventured out this morning on the road to Dubai!  It took us a little over an hour to get there.  We saw a few camels along the way...no they were not on the highway LOL!  We passed the UAE National Forest...yes they have a forest LOL!  Well they are planting a forest in a designated area....

So what did we do in Dubai...we went to the Dubai Mall!  It is HUGE...GIANORMOUS!  For some of us Texas folks the largest mall we have ever seen is the Houston Galleria Mall. Well folks the Dubai Mall is the Galleria multiplied by 4!  The Galleria Mall has 375 stores while the Dubai Mall has 1,200 stores.  The Dubai Mall covers 12.1 million sq.ft. , to me that is amazing!!!!

The Dubai Mall has some of the same stores that you would see in the states, American Eagle, Gap, H&M, Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Gucci...and more.  Some of those I will shop at and some I have never shopped at!  Too rich for my blood folks!  There are also many stores that I have never heard of before.  There is a huge food court and even some big name restaurants such as Chili's, Cheesecake Factory, Rainforest Cafe, Outback Steakhouse...etc.  It is beautifully decorated!  They have spared no expense in the furnishings or the decor...

Besides shopping you are not at a loss for entertainment there... Just name it and they probably have it!  The Underwater Zoo & Aquarium, ice skating rink (that is the same size as a hockey rink), indoor snow skiing, and movie theater.

This mall is geared mainly toward women and children because in the UAE, although some women work, most do not.  The expat women are here usually do to their husband's job and the nationals (Emirate women) are married to the ancient money in this nation!  So what do the women do all day..SHOP!  Clint said that this place could break a man!  Honestly, I am sure that I will make a few shopping trips but I am not going to be frequenting the malls on a daily basis.  Believe me there is no shortage of malls around here!  There are probably 7 BIG malls just here in Abu Dhabi!  So I could get to a mall in a matter of minutes anytime!

Risotto....Have you ever tried it?

I have had risotto a few times in my life and I haven't tasted one yet that I didn't like, but I am sure that there are many that I wouldn't like!   I can be picky... since my family says I am "unAmerican" for not liking seafood, then I would say that I have a particular pallet!  On our recent stay in London, my oldest son tried risotto for the first time.  He was not impressed...in fact he said it was disgusting!  It wasn't that bad... it just had some flavors that he wasn't used to.  I on the other hand, I didn't think it was bad at all!

So I have decided that I am going to find a recipe for a risotto dish that my whole family will love!!  I am scouring Pinterest (any Pinterest fans reading this?... It's AWESOME!) for recipes.  I found two so far that I am going to be trying in the very near future.  Be watching for the pictures and the results of the taste test!!

I love you.... I love bacon... I love you... I love bacon!!!

If you know anything about the Middle Eastern area and its people, then you probably are aware that pork is not going to be found on their plates!  On the other hand, if you know anything about most Americans, you will know that we like meat, and pork is one of those meats that we enjoy!!  So folks, when you go out to eat at a restaurant that is also found in the US, you usually do not find pork of any kind on the menu... not even bacon!  At least not pork bacon....you will find beef bacon though.  Let me tell you folks, beef bacon is not and will never be equal to pork bacon!  It doesn't taste horrible but just isn't the same....

Now don't worry, you can find bacon, pork chops, and sausage over here, but you have to go to specific stores that have separate rooms just for pork products!  Amazing, right?

You may even luck out and find one of those rare restaurants that carry bacon....and that is what happened to us yesterday afternoon!!!!  We found BACON...real actual bacon!!!

Clint had heard that there was a place called Johnny Rockets All American Diner... we decided that we were going to find it!  And find it we did!  We had a juicy hamburger that was soooo juicy that it was dripping with grease as we picked them up to eat them!  OHHHHH so GOOOOD!  Clay has been very limited on his Dr. Pepper intake because you just don't find them very often, and he found out that this place had DP!  Made his day folks!

(Ladies and Gentlemen...this can of Dr Pepper 

was 15 dirhams=$4.10.....WOW!!)

The other cool thing about this restaurant is that it was sitting right next to the Ferrari World and the F1 Test Track!  You could have watched a race from our booth seats in the restaurant... 

The meal was tasty but they really don't like giving free refills...I was able to get one free refill on my coke and Clint got one free refill on his tea, but for Clay a second Dr Pepper, we had to pay another 15 dirhams for that!  Oh and Clint was only able to have two glasses of tea.... for him that is not acceptable!  This man drinks A LOT when he eats a meal!  Overall though we will probably go back for another juicy burger!  

Our Little Oasis

Being that we are in the middle of desert country, we haven't missed the Texas heat!  The heat is all around us....  But I will have to say that the past couple of days haven't been too bad.  They have been warm but not bad!  The hottest temperatures that we have experienced so far have been about 100.... and being from Texas, we can handle that!  There are a few things that are going to help us beat the heat though--a top notch A/C Unit, access to both an indoor and outdoor pool, and a private beach!!!  Yes...we have all that right here in our little villa that we are living in!  Everything is so clean!  There aren't many families here at the moment due to everyone being gone for the summer.  The trend seems to be that folks go back to their home countries for a few weeks and then return to start preparing for the school year.

Yesterday, we rode our bicycles down to the rec center that we have available to us for use to check out the facilities.  Indoors we found a large indoor pool in a room with glass walls, outdoors we found a large outdoor pool with lounge chairs, a tennis court, a basketball court, a large grassy area with soccer goals and access to a small private beach that is accessible only to those who live in our villa and their guests!  Super nice!

The boys played some soccer with a few of the kids that were still here for the summer until dark and they took the opportunity to swim at the little beach....  Such a new culturally diverse world for them!!

First Stop...Baggage Check!!!!

June 13... This is the day that we set off as a FAMILY on our adventure!  However, this whole journey officially started months ago, back in October 2012, when my hubby accepted his new position in Abu Dhabi with his company.  So we had a tough few months apart, but it has been awesome being back together!

To help ease us into transitioning into a new time zone, we decided that we would extend what should have been a 2 hour layover in London into a 4 day vacation!  Well what we didn't know was that this extension was going to cause some hub bub with our luggage!  Hellooooo... we are moving to the other side of the world...we need lots of luggage!  So as a family of 5 we had 10 checked bags, 2 small carry-on suitcases, 3 backpack carry-ons, a laptop, and my purse!  We didn't know that we were going to have to pay an additional fee for 5 of those checked bags...Oh Mylanta!  So mark that down as an additional $300 out of pocket right from the start....  Then we get to London...all went well the entire length of our stay, and we saw many, many wonderful things!  Well.... time to leave London, and time to once again check our bags!  Well this time instead of being charged for every bag above what they allowed, we were charged for every kg of weight we went over their allowable weight limit!  Absolutely ridiculous!  So once all was said and done at Heathrow airport in London.... we were out yet again more money!  This time we were charged approx. £791.00 which converts to about $1300....are you kidding me!  Credit card don't fail us now!!!

You may be wondering why we took all the baggage and didn't know about these events before they happened.  Well here is why... when my husband flew from the states to the UAE he was allowed two checked bags, a carry-on, and a laptop since he was moving.  So he just planned for us to be afforded the same moving plan, but little did we know that because we had changed our little layover into a multi day stay, this changed the luggage process!

Moral of the story folks.... make sure you know all the ins and outs of every aspect of your trip before you actually leave for the trip!

Country Girl Goes Abroad.....Definitely not in Texas!!

Hello!  Let me introduce myself...My name is Vonnie Anderson.  I am married to my wonderful husband, Clint, and together we have three awesome yet rambunctious boys, ages 14, 11, and 9!!!  They keep us moving constantly!  We are from a small East Texas town called Alto, Texas!  Small town, good people, good values, small school, great teachers, .... the list could go on and on!!

I am a Family & Consumer Science (FCS) Teacher (aka for those born before 1998, Home Economics).  I absolutely love teaching the subjects that fall under the FCS umbrella!  It is so important for all of us to learn vital life skills that we can use in our daily living as well as in our professional avenues!  Until recently, I was teaching my chosen subject matter, but then my husband was offered an opportunity to work overseas for his company... so after many prayers, tears, and conscious decision making, we decided to take the leap!  So..... now, we are living in the Middle East.... Abu Dhabi to be exact!  As I write this we have only been in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for 2 days!!!

This is definitely a BIG leap!  From rural East Texas (pop. approx. 1500) to urban Middle East (pop. approx. 2,000,000) !!!!  So I have been posting on my Facebook page every day since we left home so that our friends and family that we have left behind can stay in touch and in the loop with our lives!  How awesome is technology today?!  Totally awesome!  We are utilizing Skype as well.... we have been able to talk to friends and family from the total opposite side of the world via this wonderful app!  While talking with one of my best friends about all the things that we have recently seen in just the past week, she suggested that I start a blog about our experiences.  So that is exactly what I am doing!  I will be posting about life, culture, food, religion, education, and just everyday things that happen!  I hope you will follow us along our journey....