Eid ul-Fitr

Eid is coming up next week. It will mean the end of Ramadan. Larry and the girls will go back to normal school and working hours. We will also be able to eat in public again - hurray for that part. The girls will get an entire week off of school. It was supposed to be only 3 days and somehow that grew into 5. Holidays here depend on the moon, not by a schedule set in advance. We had planned to go away to see other Emirates but there are no hotel rooms to be had anywhere in the country. So we will stay home and celebrate as a family and with our neighbors. There is a commuity BBQ on Tuesday. I am sure that will be fun.

For those interested here is more information about Eid. It's pretty interesting.

Eid ul-Fitr often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break the fast" (and can also mean "nature", from the word "fitrah") and so symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. Eid ul-Fitr is a three day celebration and is called "The Smaller Eid" compared with the Eid ul-Adha that lasts four days and is called "The Greater Eid".

Typically, Muslims will wake up early in the morning and have a small breakfast. Muslims are encouraged to dress in their best clothes (new if possible) and to attend a special Eid prayer that is performed in congregation at mosques or open areas like fields, squares etc. When Muslims finish their fast at the last day (29th or 30th Ramadan), they recite Takbir:

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر
la ilaha illa Allah لا إله إلا الله
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar الله أكبر الله أكبر
wa li-illahi al-hamd ولله الحمد
God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest,
There is no deity but God
God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest
and to God goes all praise

The Takbir is recited after confirmation that the moon of Shawwal is sighted on the eve of the last day of Ramadan. It continues until the start of the Eid prayer. Before the Eid prayer begins, every Muslim who is able must pay Zakat al-fitr,[1] an alms for the month of Ramadan. This equates to about 2 kg of a basic foodstuff (wheat, barley, dates, raisins, etc.), or its cash equivalent, and is typically collected at the mosque. This is distributed to needy local Muslims prior to the start of the Eid prayer. It can be given at any time during the month of Ramadan and is often given early, so the recipient can use it for Eid purchases. This is distinct from Zakat based on wealth, which must be paid to a worthy charity.
The Eid prayer (salah) is followed by the khutbah (sermon) and then a prayer (dua') asking for forgiveness, mercy and help for the plight of Muslims across the world. The khutbah also instructs Muslims as to the rituals of Eid, such as the zakat. It is then customary to embrace the persons sitting on either side of oneself. People will also visit their relatives, friends and acquaintances.
After the prayers, some people will pay visit to the graveyards (ziyarat al-qubur).

Taken from Wikipedia on 25/9/2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Fitr

A couple of new paintings

It's great to have the time to paint again. The first one is live, laugh, love with an Arabic flare. The 2nd one is a study of Van Gogh's sunflowers. Dani and Elle and the 2 neighbor girls have been painting with me too. I will post pictures of their paintings when they are all done.

Iftar Dinner

Tonight we went to the Jumeirah Beach Resort for an Iftar dinner. We wanted to experience some local culture. Iftar is the breaking of the daily Ramadan fast. It is traditional to break the fast by first eating dates with camel's milk. We tried the dates... very sweet but skipped the camel's milk. The iftar tent was beautiful with lots of blues and golds. We all tried a variety of foods. Only Larry liked the lamb (which is very big here). The humus and bread were awesome. All of the desserts were over the top sweet but good none the less. More pictures later after I figure out how to download them from Larry's phone.

The saga of the lawn mower

Right now we have a gardener, its pretty inexpensive. Most everyone has one here. He cuts and waters the grass, but he also does things like waters your pile of cardboard boxes... I won't get on my soap box about common sense again. But anyway, we decided that we could water and cut our grass on our own. Larry and I went to ACE hardware yesterday. Its pretty much the only place here to buy a lawnmower. We spent at least an hour maybe more looking at mowers. Most things here are not priced and properly labeled. It's very common to have a box with a price below that doesn't belong to it. We have a small yard so we just need a small electric mower plus most mowers here are electric. Of course that is complicated. Mowers are sold with different types of plugs. You have to buy adapters that don't fit well. Imagine mowing the lawn and the cord keeps falling out. We also needed to look at extension cords. Maybe it's been too long since I've purchased an extension cord in the US, but it was $45 US minimum for a cord.

Finally after asking several questions of store sales people with no knowledge of the products in the store we finally decide upon on a model. We are sure keep the price in mind because it often changes at the cash register. We get there and it ends up 50Dhs less, that's cool. We're happy we have what we need and it cost a little less.

Last night we went to an Iftar dinner (more on that in another post) so we didn't put the mower together. Today Larry goes off to work so I decide to put the mower together. I open the box and take everything out. I see the blades and think that's kinda weird, they don't look like they would actually cut grass. But I keep going thinking it's some cool new way to cut grass. I page thru the manual looking for English (all manuals come in 6-10 languages here). It keeps refering to the scarifer. I wonder what the heck that it is so read more before proceeding. Turns out that we purchased a law aerator. All that... back and forth with sales people, getting prices, checking on cords and adapters... and we bought the wrong damned thing!

So back to the store today. The good news is that a new road just opened up making getting to this store much easier. Hopefully it's still open today.

School Projects

Dani and Elle have started off the school year well with some amazing school projects. Dani had to create a model of a plant cell for science class. She received an A+ on her project - picture below. Elle's class is studying endangered animals. She chose the Tasmanian Devil. Part of the project is to create a visual aid. Since I was painting that day she thought it would be cool to do a painting. She did an awesome job and its an original idea (which gives her extra points).

Fall

Tonight, the family watched a movie together. During the course of the movie, Fall set in and there were scenes of blowing leaves, changing colors, ... Renee spoke up first and said how she will miss the experience of Fall while we are here - the cooling temps, the smell of grapes (Fall is harvest time at her parents), the brilliant colors... Elle chimed in and said, "it is Fall". How surreal, it is still 100+ (111 today) and at the same time it is Fall.

And yes, before anyone starts teasing, yes, this is Larry posting. Makes a grand total of 2 now. It's hard to keep up with Renee, the Postmaster General.

Missing the middle

It seems there is nothing in the middle here. There are high end stores and cheap stores, there are rich people and laborers, there are gourmet restaurants and fast food, etc. Where is Target and Outback Steak House? There are a few middle of the road restaurants here but if you are looking for a steak, well its very expensive only. Of course we are middle class but not really here.

Today I heard about this middle class neighborhood that is being torn down - why... well because you always tear down the middle here and anything not shiny and new. It's an odd place sometimes. There is a wonderful, beautiful veneer on the surface but inside, this is an undeveloped country - or at least operates like one.

I'm not saying its a bad place or anything. Just different than you might expect. I think they need to make a space middle class here. They need lots and lots of laborers for all of the building but what about supporting those buildings once they are complete? People in the middle who can make decisions are needed. It takes too long to always go to the top for a simple day to day decision to be made. That is why it is difficult to accomplish things here.