As many of you know my niece is living with us this year and attending school with my kids. We've only been in Abu Dhabi a year, so we're not exactly seasoned veterans of the Middle East (although people here consider a year a long time), but it's interesting to see how the new guys cope. We're surrounding by a lot of "I want to go home" mantras, and very few "I'm embracing the change" mottos. Maybe that's teendom.
Luckily, my newbie is embracing the change and making some very astute observations while doing so. On the first day in Arabic 101 the teacher asked, 'if you could make a wish what would it be'? The new kids all (save one) said they wanted to go home. My new kid said, 'I'd like to be able to breathe underwater.' You've got to love that!
Tonight the kids were discussing class elections. When I asked my niece who she voted for she said, "I got really confused with all the Ahmeds. And I never knew there were so many Alis in the world!"
We went out to the beach tonight to take a swim before dinner and I told the kids they could wear shorts to the club. My niece said, 'I feel naked.'
It's nice to see things with fresh eyes....and it's wonderful to have a pair of fresh eyes spending the year with us.
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