Family Outing

So we decided that since we had a long weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday, we should go do something, see something, hear something...just something!  Since we have been here, we haven't really ventured to far out of Abu Dhabi.  I started browsing the web for affordable things to do in the UAE...I wanted to find something that everyone would be able to enjoy!  I think that I was successful....

So what did we do?  We went to the 10th Annual Al Ain Acrobatic Airshow, the Al Ain Zoo, the top of Jabeel Hafeet mountain, dinner at TGIFriday's, and then UAE National Day fireworks in Abu Dhabi!  Was it all affordable?  Well for the entire day's activities we spent approxiamately 700AED.  That is $190.57 for those of you who would like to know the currency conversion!

Not bad huh?  Not bad at all!!  I think that we did a pretty good job at meeting the expense requirements as well as everyone had a really good time!

We learned a lot of culutral and historical things about the acrobatic feats of the airplanes and their features.  As well as some very interesting things about Jabeel Hafeet...tombs and artifacts were found during the making of the road that provides visitors with a path to the top of the mountain.  It was a beautiful view and an awesome temperature...nice, cool, and breezy at 4000ft.  The zoo was a really nice zoo.  I think it was one of the cleanest and nicest zoos I have ever seen.  There were no stinky animal smells, and that was something I could appreciate! HAHAHAH!!

I have posted a few of the pictures from our day out!

Camel ride at the zoo

Chess anyone?

Fireworks for 42nd National Day

 Jabeel Hafeet

Interesting....

This post is just a few of the interesting things that we have seen lately during trips to the local Carrefour and LuLu's shopping centers.  For those who don't know, these stores are the UAE's equivalent to Wal-Mart in the USA.

As Thanksgiving is fast approaching we start making our plans for Christmas, and it is our tradition to decorate our Christmas tree on Thanksgiving night.  We have our Thanksgiving feast, then relax watching a little football while our bellies settle, and then we pull out the "real" artificial tree.  The boys help me fluff each branch, then we add the lights, and finally all the decorations.  After the tree is decorated, I make cocoa and we sit down as a family and watch the movie "The Polar Express".  We all look forward to it each year!  Well when our things were being packed last spring, all of our Christmas items were supposed to be loaded on the moving truck but sadly they were not!  So we have had to purchase a new tree, new ornaments, and new lights.  Here is what we found when we went shopping.....

Stars, Ornaments, lights, Poinsettias, trees, garlands, Santa's of all types (dancing, singing, statues), NATIVITY SCENCES....and lots of other things.... even the word CHRISTmas!  

So we are pretty set for our Christmas supplies, and we will be able to have a tree!!

On our next trip to the store we saw an amazing site in the mall right in front of the LuLu's shopping center.  Someone had created a GIANT display of the tallest building in the world, which was a 3D cake model of the Burj Khalifa.  It was probably a good 8-9 feet tall....  Amazing,simply amzing!!!  This was in honor of the upcoming UAE celebration of their country's beginning as a united group....It is called National Day, and this is the 42nd year!

This is icing piped on representingimportant men of the UAE

The next two pictures are of a scaled model of the Grand Mosque in the UAE Capital City of Abu Dhabi.

Front view of the Grand Mosque

Back view of the Grand Mosque

Now this final picture is just for a laugh....  One of the things that people like to do to show their support of the UAE and their leader, is to cover the windows and sometimes the whole care in decals and picture wraps.  This picture is of the back glass on a vehicle with one of the window wraps but if you look closely you will find an amusing mistake....  See if you can find it! Comment on this post or message me on Facebook if you find it! 

                     

Education....It Is A Puzzle

Education is the key to success!  We have all heard this statement, and some of us have probably even quoted it ourselves.  I am a believer in education, hence the fact that I am a teacher, but when does the education "push" become too much?

Clint and I have always pushed our boys to work hard in everything from education to sports.  We are always telling them, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right." or "We expect you to give 100+% in everything.  Don't halfway do anything." Well, let me tell you that our introduction to international education has been a bumpy one.  The school that the boys are attending here in the Land of Sand is rigorous.  I am not saying that it is a bad thing for there to be rigor in education.  Just the opposite, I agree that the expectations should be high, but where do you draw the line between rigor and excess?

Let me explain where I am coming from....  

One of our boys has been struggling in a subject that has always been one of his best subjects, yet he is exceling in all other subjects.  The teacher of this course said that he only helps students with specific questions about a lesson, and he would not reteach the lesson.  Of course I disagree with this... what if the specific question is the fact that the student did not understand the concept of the entire lesson?  How does that student go about choosing a specific question?  The lesson itself has become the specific question at hand.  According to this teacher, he is preparing the students for the "college world".  In a way, I would agree with him, but I also would have to say that I disagree.  Anyone, who has ever attended college/university, knows that even a college professor has "office hours", where students can make appointments for one on one help from that instructor.  I had several in college that retaught concepts to me when I was lacking understanding.  So not every college professor has the mind set of "I don't care about you".  Now, according to this teacher, students are always welcome to come to him for help, but if you were told that unless you had a specific question about the lesson he would not help you, would you feel like you could ask for help?  I know that I wouldn't feel as if I could.  If a student does not understand the concept of the lesson, there is no way that they can pinpoint one specific thing to ask.

Another example....

One of our boys has been struggling with the new expectations that this school has regarding the use of technology.  Every student has an email address assigned by the school, and the teachers email them about assignments, notes that they need to print out for class, and updates about assignments...among other various need to know info.  The students also are given multiple web assignments that must be completed or corrected online by a certain time or the "window" of opportunity will close.  So from grades 6th-12th, they are required to check their email on a regular basis.  So here is the issue....our children have never had any use for an email account until now.  So they can barely remember to check it on a regular basis, therefore, they miss reminders and "windows" of opportunity.  It is supposed to be checked each day.  According to the school/teachers, this is to help the students become more responsible as well as organized.  Now in theory, I think that this is a great way to keep kids informed as well as up to date BUT for kids that have never had the need for an email account, it is a giant task!

Now all of this being said, I believe that our boys are capable of rising to the task and being successful BUT is this truly helping them be successful in their education, or is it causing undue stress?  I know that there are several parents that think that these things are not overboard expectations, and I understand that we come from a very different format for education and this is an adjustment.  

I can see some Pro's.... 1) start early on learning to juggle during times of extreme stress, 2) improve responsibility level, and 3) provide students with a feeling of being "grown up".

I can see some Con's... 1) undue stress from trying to remember to do things that they have never had the need to do before, 2) can a kid just be a kid, please, we have plenty of time to deal with emails later in life, and 3) sometimes technology is not always reliable or available.

In the end, I am sure that we will look back on this and see that these things have really helped them prepare for their futures....at least I hope that is the case.  In the meantime, we are struggling.  When I say we, I mean WE as in ALL of us...LOL! 

So when is enough, enough?  It is a puzzle.  What fits? What doesn't fit?  What is the best way to prepare kids for their futures?  Where is the proper balance?  Who has the answer-- Internationl format or the format we are used to?

Education--It is a Puzzle!

Baseball in the Land of Sand

Yes, you heard me right!  BASEBALL!!  We were super excited when we found out that our boys were going to be able to still play baseball during our time on this side of the world!  Each of our boys love the game of baseball, and all are very athletic, so we needed this outlet for them!  American football is also here but it is not as established as the baseball program.  They are playing for teams that are part of the Dubai Little League.  Joshua and Denver are both on teams that were able to form in Abu Dhabi (which is where we live), which means that they will also be able to practice in Abu Dhabi!  Clay on the other hand is the only boy on the Senior level teams that is from Abu Dhabi so he will have to practice in Dubai with his assigned team....bummer BUT we are playing baseball, so we will make it work!!!  Woo Hoo!!  The team names are Astros (Denver), Yankees (Joshua), and Rangers (Clay)...funny how two of our boys ended up on Texas MLB named teams!  All of their games will take place on Friday afternoons and Saturday's at some point in the day in Dubai.  Opening day is November 22....the ironic thing is that when we were still in the states, Clint was always gone opening day.... He was either overseas or out of town for some type of work, and now we are overseas and opening day Clint will be in Florida...LOL!  Stop the madness!!

Although it stinks that Clint will not be here for opening day, he will be here for the rest of their games. Clay will play his games on Friday's so he will be attending an umpire clinic on November 15th so that he can call games for the younger teams on Saturday's.  He will be able to make a little money by umpiring the games.  He is currently helping at Joshua's and Denver's team's practices, so he is going to be able to gain community service hours by doing that.  Community service always looks good on those scholarship and college applications!

At this time, they all three will be the catcher for their respective teams.  Joshua hasn't caught behind the plate in a few years, so last night and then again this evening he suited up and knocked the dust off the ole' catcher's mitt!  He didn't do too bad...a little rusty but he still has it!  Denver will most likely do some catching and some pitching!!  Yes, pitching!  At the skills assessment for Denver's age group, they had all kids pitch, just to see who had the potential to pitch and who did not.  Well we have never even seen Denver pitch...EVER!  We weren't expecting much... The coach was behind the plate catching for each kid, and he wasn't wearing any type of protection.  Denver stepped up... AND zinged the ball straight over the plate!!  I heard the ball hit the mitt and my eyes got really big!  I looked at Clint and his face/eyes mirrored mine!  We were both like...WHAT!!!  The coach stood up after that first pitch and said "hold on", he turned around and put the umpire mask on..LOL!

All of the boys attended a training camp that was taught by a team of volunteers from the Cincinatti Reds and Team Rhino Sports.  They really were given a lot of great tips and instruction.... At the same time the Anderson boys were turning heads and making coaches take notice!  They were asking about who they were, where were they from, and how long have they played....  We are looking forward to a good season of baseball...November through April!  BUSY BUSY BUSY!! I will keep you posted here and on Facebook! 

Joshua has Returned for Turkey

Joshua, my second born, has returned from his adventure abroad to Turkey!  He had a great time with all his new found 6th grade friends/classmates and teachers.  Their trip was jammed packed with places to tour, see, and experience.  I am so glad that he was able to take advantage of this awesome experience at such a young age!  Now it wasn't all play folks!  Each student had to present a speech about a previously assigned topic that was related to the various places that they visited during the week.  Then while on the trip they were to listen to each speech, take pictures of the locations, and then write in a journal daily about everything that they were learing and experiencing!  This was such an amazing way to learn about Turkey and the civilization of Spartans, commoners, soldiers, and their way of life during that time so many, many years ago...

I posted several of the pictures that Joshua took while on his trip on Facebook, so those who read both this blog and my Facebook posts may see some repeats.  I hope that you enjoy getting to see a little of what he experienced!!!