Wednesday, April 10, 2013

April 10th, 2013


A 2 ½ hour ride to the airport, an 8 ½ hour flight to Amsterdam, a 5 hour layover, then another 6 ½ hour flight to Abu Dhabi……and WE’RE HERE!!

I have traveled a lot in and out of long car rides and trips, but I have never gone through so many different times zones in a matter of 1 day. We basically skipped a night because we left Minneapolis at 3pm our time and arrived at 6:30am Amsterdam time. Thankfully, Liz was my lookout while I slept in the airport at Amsterdam. On our way out we had to stop and take pictures with the cute teapot and cups which are made after the Netherlands famous “Delftware.” I also had to take a couple of FLAT EMILEE pictures for the students back at Park Elementary (We did a Flat Stanley Project with the 2nd graders, so don’t be alarmed if a lot of my pictures include my flat version instead of the real meJ).




We arrived in Abu Dhabi at around 8pm their time and we were taken directly to our new villa and greeted by Mrs. Naema. She gave us a tour of the whole compound and then we had a light dinner (I thought it was a feast!) before having some tea and going to bed. Mrs. Naema has 6 daughters and 1 son. We were also just informed that her son’s first baby was born the morning we arrived, so everyone is very excited!! In the United Arab Emirates, families are very close and usually tend to live by each other or with each on what they call a compound. All of Mrs. Naema’s children live on the compound in separate villas with their families. We are staying in the guest villa which I think is very extravagant and beautiful as it is, but I was definitely speechless when I saw the main house. It is amazing!



 

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