Weekend in the UAE is on Friday and Saturday. We've decided to be where we are, spend some family time together and not think (too much) about our uncertain future. The gentleman in the collage is Ibn Battuta - a Tunisian explorer - much like the Maco Poplo of the Middle East. One of our favourite malls here is named for him. The mall is divided into sections depicting his travels. I love the amazing domes - all throughout the mall there are bits of museum-like displays with information about Ibn Battuta and other Arabian scientists, explorers, inventors and their legacies. This is just one of the many reasons why I like being able to live among people of a different culture than my own, there is so much to know and learn. We are taught about the Wright brothers, but who has heard about Abbas bin Farnas?
The reality of quite possibly not being able to live here is slowly settling in. When Tinus received the offer to come and work here, we were both reluctant to accept the offer. We had an amazing life in South Africa. For the first time since I was at school I lived close to my parents, we had (have) amazing friends who were our neighbours, the kids were happy and did well in their school, the only drawback was Tinus working in Cape Town, one and a half hour away, and we only saw him over weekends and on Wednesdays.
He is leaving for SA in two days. We did some shopping, saw Transformers in 3D on IMAX and also the final Harry Potter movie. We had a lovely afternoon with our long-time friends Richard and Marianne. We swam and ate and enjoyed our time together, trying not to think how fast it flies.
No comments:
Post a Comment