Christmas was awesome. Father Christmas really spoilt my kids this year and I think they totally deserved it. It has been a really tough year for all of us, especially them. They have moved countries and cultures and been happy, smiling children through all of it. I am truly blessed with really great kids.
On Christmas eve we went to a BBQ at our American friend, Richard's house. There was an assortment of teachers from various countries which made for some very interesting conversations and a lot of crazy mixed-up traditions. There was a big Christmas tree and some presents for all the kids underneath. I was very pleased to see my friend Juliet, who has just come back from a visit to her family in the Philippines. Juliet brought me my only Christmas present which was a Filipino specialty made by Goldilocks called Polvoron. It is a cross between the shortbread and sugee cookie. YUM.
Americans are loud, often gregarious and very often very funny people. I found myself laughing with them most of the night as they made fun of each other the whole night. I prefer to turn a blind eye to their faults so that I can appreciate their good points. I had a moment though when Buddy the dog was called into service to clean up children's vomit of the floor, that made me wonder why I was there....
We changed our minds as to where we going to spend Christmas on Christmas eve, and a good thing we did too. We ended up in Wadi Ghul which is a wadi with an abandoned village, located to the northwest of Al Humra. The area is referred to as the "Omani grand canyon ". A friend, my kids and I managed to climb most of the abandoned village, Al Khitaym and looked over the very fertile wadi. The view was amazing and the village was incredibly interesting. We went into the wadi and had a picnic lunch of roast beef, homemade bread, salad and chicken. The only dish that resembled anything mildly Christmassy was a very delicious trifle. I made carrot cake for tea as well. The company was even better than the food. The kids got even more Christmas presents. Matthew found some shrapnel left over from the war in the 1950's and Nicholas found his voice echoing in the wadi.
Having recently bought a new KIA Sorento we were eager to see how it performed under 4X4 conditions. It surpassed all our expectations. I am quite eager to see how it performs on loose sand now. Perhaps we need to go camping on the beach soon.
It is still school holidays. New Year was celebrated on 5 December according to the Islamic calendar and so the children start school on the 31 January. I am rather anxious about their first exam results which are going to arrive on 1 January.
Kim Jong II from North Korea is being buried today. I wonder why people are so sad when he was such a ruthless dictator who cut them off from the rest of the world. To me, the public display of sobbing and wailing is really odd. Perhaps I am watching it from a euro-centric perspective. At least they are showing their emotions, unlike the English who show no emotion.
New Years eve is looming. My husband is grumpy. The kids are missing-in-action on their bicycles. I need to think about some new years resolutions that I can keep. Haha fat chance!
On Christmas eve we went to a BBQ at our American friend, Richard's house. There was an assortment of teachers from various countries which made for some very interesting conversations and a lot of crazy mixed-up traditions. There was a big Christmas tree and some presents for all the kids underneath. I was very pleased to see my friend Juliet, who has just come back from a visit to her family in the Philippines. Juliet brought me my only Christmas present which was a Filipino specialty made by Goldilocks called Polvoron. It is a cross between the shortbread and sugee cookie. YUM.
Americans are loud, often gregarious and very often very funny people. I found myself laughing with them most of the night as they made fun of each other the whole night. I prefer to turn a blind eye to their faults so that I can appreciate their good points. I had a moment though when Buddy the dog was called into service to clean up children's vomit of the floor, that made me wonder why I was there....
We changed our minds as to where we going to spend Christmas on Christmas eve, and a good thing we did too. We ended up in Wadi Ghul which is a wadi with an abandoned village, located to the northwest of Al Humra. The area is referred to as the "Omani grand canyon ". A friend, my kids and I managed to climb most of the abandoned village, Al Khitaym and looked over the very fertile wadi. The view was amazing and the village was incredibly interesting. We went into the wadi and had a picnic lunch of roast beef, homemade bread, salad and chicken. The only dish that resembled anything mildly Christmassy was a very delicious trifle. I made carrot cake for tea as well. The company was even better than the food. The kids got even more Christmas presents. Matthew found some shrapnel left over from the war in the 1950's and Nicholas found his voice echoing in the wadi.
Having recently bought a new KIA Sorento we were eager to see how it performed under 4X4 conditions. It surpassed all our expectations. I am quite eager to see how it performs on loose sand now. Perhaps we need to go camping on the beach soon.
It is still school holidays. New Year was celebrated on 5 December according to the Islamic calendar and so the children start school on the 31 January. I am rather anxious about their first exam results which are going to arrive on 1 January.
Kim Jong II from North Korea is being buried today. I wonder why people are so sad when he was such a ruthless dictator who cut them off from the rest of the world. To me, the public display of sobbing and wailing is really odd. Perhaps I am watching it from a euro-centric perspective. At least they are showing their emotions, unlike the English who show no emotion.
New Years eve is looming. My husband is grumpy. The kids are missing-in-action on their bicycles. I need to think about some new years resolutions that I can keep. Haha fat chance!
