This week was very busy. I am thankful for that because it keeps my mind off thinking about Evan and Paul all the time. Again, I can't wait for them to get here. Please pray that they will be able to get a visit visa soon so they can come in two weeks before Evan turns two (so we don't have to pay for a ticket for him).
My classes are getting better each day. My KG2 class is a dream. They are so good (except for one students who loves to kick and hit me). One of my students calls me Ms. Wolf because I taught them the game "What Time is it Mr. Wolf?" He thought it was my real name because they were asking me what time it was. I had to tell him that I am Ms. Danielle. HAHAHA!!! So cute. He would say "Mr. Wolf, may I use the toilet" etc. It was too funny! My KG1's are settling in and I only have 1 student who still cries all day. The nannies want my personal number so parents can call me whenever they want. This is so not going to happen. I have received great feedback about my program and there are some parents who want to switch their children into my class. They love that I am a native English speaker and want their children to learn from me. That way, I can't revert to Arabic to speak to them. The children are forced to learn to speak English because that is all I know. They also know how much fun we have singing and playing games.
This week I found it fascinating to listen to the Muslim prayer calls. These happen 5 times a day. Even in the mall and restaurants, the music stops and all you hear is the call to prayer. I was in the park just outside my hotel and recorded this video :
It was pretty amazing to see the number of men who flock to the mosques to pray. I began to think of how cool it would be in Canada to have Christian prayers ring out through the city 5 times a day. I wonder what would happen if the Christians too would flock to the churches to pray and lift of the name of Jesus. The Muslim people have amazing dedication to their religion. I went to a church today (Friday). It was so amazing to be in a Muslim country but be able to worship together with people I have never met. The church is called Redeemer Church of Dubai. There were a lot of families there and it felt like a great church. I will go back there. They have an upcoming series called "The Expat Life". The sermons will look at 6 things: You were CHOSEN for this assignment, Retirement Benefits, How to Live in Dubai, Your Home Away from Home, Shining Brightly in a Dark World and Honoring God at Work. I think I will check out this series. They sing contemporary songs and the church reminds me of my church back home.
One other quick thing I learned this week. The cars here all have license plates. The lower your number on the plate, the more money you have (apparently). The lower ones cost more. This week I found this car in the mall parking garage. It is lowest number I have seen yet (36). Apparently the number "5" plate sold recently for 25 million dollars. Yep, that's right...25 MILLION. People here have so much wealth that they can afford to spend that kind of money on a plate. WOW! It shocks me to see how people can spend this kind of money when there are people here who have moved away from their family for years to make $300 a month. The guy that cleans my room at my hotel told me he has a wife and two children (2 and 5) at home in Sri Lanka. He moved away this year in order to make some money and send it home. How can anyone live on $300 a month??? Another cleaner at my school moved here from Pakistan. He makes about $400/month. He decided to move here because there are no bombs or Taliban here. I could not imagine this at all. My eyes have been opened to the difference between the haves and have-nots here. Sometimes it makes me sick to see the inequalities. Anyway, I am off to go shopping for my apartment. We will be in the hotel for another week at the most. Until next time...
My classes are getting better each day. My KG2 class is a dream. They are so good (except for one students who loves to kick and hit me). One of my students calls me Ms. Wolf because I taught them the game "What Time is it Mr. Wolf?" He thought it was my real name because they were asking me what time it was. I had to tell him that I am Ms. Danielle. HAHAHA!!! So cute. He would say "Mr. Wolf, may I use the toilet" etc. It was too funny! My KG1's are settling in and I only have 1 student who still cries all day. The nannies want my personal number so parents can call me whenever they want. This is so not going to happen. I have received great feedback about my program and there are some parents who want to switch their children into my class. They love that I am a native English speaker and want their children to learn from me. That way, I can't revert to Arabic to speak to them. The children are forced to learn to speak English because that is all I know. They also know how much fun we have singing and playing games.
This week I found it fascinating to listen to the Muslim prayer calls. These happen 5 times a day. Even in the mall and restaurants, the music stops and all you hear is the call to prayer. I was in the park just outside my hotel and recorded this video :
It was pretty amazing to see the number of men who flock to the mosques to pray. I began to think of how cool it would be in Canada to have Christian prayers ring out through the city 5 times a day. I wonder what would happen if the Christians too would flock to the churches to pray and lift of the name of Jesus. The Muslim people have amazing dedication to their religion. I went to a church today (Friday). It was so amazing to be in a Muslim country but be able to worship together with people I have never met. The church is called Redeemer Church of Dubai. There were a lot of families there and it felt like a great church. I will go back there. They have an upcoming series called "The Expat Life". The sermons will look at 6 things: You were CHOSEN for this assignment, Retirement Benefits, How to Live in Dubai, Your Home Away from Home, Shining Brightly in a Dark World and Honoring God at Work. I think I will check out this series. They sing contemporary songs and the church reminds me of my church back home.
One other quick thing I learned this week. The cars here all have license plates. The lower your number on the plate, the more money you have (apparently). The lower ones cost more. This week I found this car in the mall parking garage. It is lowest number I have seen yet (36). Apparently the number "5" plate sold recently for 25 million dollars. Yep, that's right...25 MILLION. People here have so much wealth that they can afford to spend that kind of money on a plate. WOW! It shocks me to see how people can spend this kind of money when there are people here who have moved away from their family for years to make $300 a month. The guy that cleans my room at my hotel told me he has a wife and two children (2 and 5) at home in Sri Lanka. He moved away this year in order to make some money and send it home. How can anyone live on $300 a month??? Another cleaner at my school moved here from Pakistan. He makes about $400/month. He decided to move here because there are no bombs or Taliban here. I could not imagine this at all. My eyes have been opened to the difference between the haves and have-nots here. Sometimes it makes me sick to see the inequalities. Anyway, I am off to go shopping for my apartment. We will be in the hotel for another week at the most. Until next time...
Thanks for the update, D. I was wondering how you are doing. We are thinking of you and praying for you, Paul and Ev. Glad to hear that week 2 is better. The call to prayer sounds familiar - although I think your singer sounds better than ours. That is crazy about the license plate as a status symbol - someone is making a quick buck! Glad you went to church and felt a connection there. We love experiencing the church world-wide. It takes on a whole new meaning.
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