Anyone who has been in an airplane undoubtedly has witnessed the airline “refreshing” the air during either the boarding or unboarding process. Most times, it isn’t that noticeable other than a slight hissing sound. However, coming back from Oman recently, the air was so hot that the air pumped in almost looked like the plane was being gassed….
Creative English
When in China, we were overwhelmed with “Chinglish” – a rare language based somewhat like English…if Google Translate was the supreme ruler. We’ve found a similar language here (Engabic perhaps?), whether from our landlord’s notices or a recent restaurant experience at Abu Dhabi Airport. The restaurant is Hippopotamus, originally French but found on every continent….
Watch that finger!!
For having a relatively small population, the UAE seems to have a disproportionately high number of bad drivers. And with all of those bad drivers, road rage is bound to affect even the most patient tempers. But you better think twice about flipping off someone when that road rage sets in. Apparently giving the finger…
The Price of Gas (or Should I Say “Petrol”)
Ever since landing in Abu Dhabi, family and friends back home have had a million questions. But perhaps the one most frequently asked is “how much is the gas?” Well, after converting litres to gallons and dirhams to dollars, I calculated the current price to be: $1.77 per gallon Normally, this is the part where…
O-man, what a birthday!!
In my birthday card from Megan, the last line was quite cryptic: be home from work by 6:30pm on Thursday. When I arrived home (with 15 minutes to spare), she wisked me off to the airport for a surprise weekend getaway to Muscat, Oman (because she scored a great deal, of course)! Those who know…
Code of the Road
Being off the UAE roads for a little bit gave us a bit of perspective on how “fun” the driving is here. So you can hit the ground running – or in this case driving – when you come visit, here are a few key rules of the road… – Flashing the headlights – a…
Back in the Desert
We safely landed back in the UAE on Monday night after our whirlwind (but way too brief) vacation in the US. Yes, we were reminded by our conversation with the JFK customs official that our trip to America was in fact, a “vacation”. It certainly was odd to say that! Landing in the UAE on…
Babies, BBC and BBQ!
As much fun as we had during the Maryland/Washington leg of our US tour, there was plenty more fun (and food) to be had up north in Connecticut! It was a wonderful few days of catching up with family and friends, highlighted by our first introduction to nephew Alex and cousin Kieva. Both are ridiculously…
The Simple Things Never Tasted So Good
Sometimes, being away, you miss the simple things from home. In our case, one of them was a $6 lunch of some Mexican basics at Chipotle. Luckily, these outputs are everywhere. So, what better way to spend some child-parent time than with a little burrito and taco action?! (Don’t worry, we’re not chronicling every meal…