The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back

Hello from cool Dubai.  The weather is fantastic right now.  It is about 28' during the day and 20' at night.  We can finally open the doors and windows and get some fresh air in the apartment.  As promised, I said I would write about National Day here.  I have had many questions about the camel incident so I will write what actually happened to stop any myths that I have heard. 

This is a picture just before the fall.  I was like "Oooohhh...this is fun!".  I was having a great time and feeling so brave.  My class and another class were there watching me.  I was waving to my fans and having a great time.  There were also several staff members out watching.  Great!  Just great!  Well my loop was over and it was time to get off the camel.  Please note the bricks below the camel.  The camel went half way down and everything was good.  I was holding on for dear life.  Then, it was time for it to go down on its front legs.  This is when it happened.  All I remember is going over my hands that were holding on and landing face first on the ground.  I have no idea how it happened.  I am not sure if it is because I was wearing an abaya and slipped.  All I know is that I was holding on tight and that is how I fell on my face...my hands didn't let go until it was too late and my face took the brunt of the fall.







So this is what happens when you fall off a camel, onto your face on the cement.  OUCH!  Thankfully I did not break my nose, my teeth or my wrist.  The thing that hurt the most was my pride.  I was so embarrassed.  A lot of the kids didn't want to go for a camel ride anymore.  Anytime I went back outside there were no rides going on.  I am not sure if I was the last ride of the day.  I went to the nurse just to make sure everything was OK and she helped clean me up.  The principal of the school came to make sure I was too badly hurt. 



In my class we decorated sandwiches to look like the flag.  We also had the parents from our class come to do an activity with their child.  It was a lot of fun.  There were also stalls set up outside where you could eat some food.  We also had the children make boats and floated them in the pool.  They had a great day!

Outside of the school all decorated

Outside of the school all decorated

Outside of the school all decorated

Floating our boats

Sandwiches that look like the flag

Outside my classroom - my kids and I created this.

A student brought a falcon to school

I learned a lot about the UAE.  There is so much pride here.  They absolutely love their country.  So would I if I had no debt because the government paid it off, had a house that the government bought me, had my schooling and medical covered by the government.  All because I was local.  Locals are only about 20% of the Dubai population and they are treated well.