What Do I Miss the Most?

Living half way across the world away from everything I know is not something easy to do.  There are days that get so sad and lonely they are almost unbearable, but then there are better days when things come together and I experience things that I would never have, had I not been living in the UAE. 

I have been living here for 5 months and have another 5 months to go before the summer holidays.  So as a way to commemorate the halfway mark, I have come up with a list of the top 10 things that I miss the most.  Family and friends is an obvious number one, so therefore they will not be included on this list.

As I began to compile the list, I found it funny how it’s the small things that I never really paid much attention to that I end up missing the most.  Things that you see or experience everyday that you take for granted until they are gone, then you realize how much they were a part of your life.

10. Seeing Green

Hills, grass, pine trees, maple tress… all the beauty Canada has the offer

           

            9. Z103.5

Yes, even the annoying Scott Fox and his morning show

            8. French Translations

There is just something about seeing French translations on road signs and packaging that says ‘home’

            7. Snow and Cold Weather

            I just simply love it!

            6. The Food Network

I need my fix of ‘Barefoot Contessa’, ‘Good Eats’ and ‘Chef at Home’, to name a few

            5. Bacon

            The wonderful flavour and smell of smoky, crisp, salty goodness!

            4. President Choice Products

            Especially those chocolate chunk cookies, I could go for a box of those right now

            3. Tim Horton’s.

            Medium coffee with one milk please!

            2. Portuguese Culture

 The lack of it here just makes me miss my roots; Cod fish, corn bread and custard tarts

            1. Sushi Island/Iron Chef!

I’d take a plane ride back right now for some of that sushi goodness.

I’ll get the chance to experience these things again, but until then I will continue to enjoy the new experiences of a Middle East life.

Bryan The Camel says…

Can I get 5 Crunch Rolls, a Geisha roll with extra Hiroshima sauce, mushroom blossoms and a house salad.

Award Ceremony or Comedic Act?

There is no better way to end off a school term then by having an award ceremony to commemorate the hard work and achievements of the students’.  It is also a great way to motivate the students for the next term.  I thoroughly enjoy these school events; for they give me the opportunity to see the school showcase its greatness!  And I get no better amusement in it.

I mean the beautiful decorations of streamers and balloons that hung so diligently on the stage with staples half sticking out was absolutely breathtaking… and the words ‘I Love You’ and ‘# 1 Dad’ printed on the balloons just added to that special je ne sais quoi.

The strikingly large, yellow golden trophy was held up proudly when it was presented to the best class of the term… I was just hoping the sticker saying ‘Best Class’ wouldn’t come off and uncover the ‘Gino’s Pizza Prize Award’ that lay underneath, which was given to the school for ordering the most pizzas last year.

I thought it would be a great idea to have some of our talented students play a piece of music half way through the ceremony.  And I have to say the beautiful music really did showcase the amazing talent of the school… I mean it takes a lot of talent to be able to hit the keys just right as the music plays from the pre-recorded electric keyboard.

And what better way to really say congratulations to the students for their high achievements then with gifts wrapped in paper with the words ‘get well’ on it.

In all honestly is was a great ceremony, one of the best we have had all year.  And I will take the few chuckles where I can get them, because they don’t happen often.

Bryan The Camel says…

            Did you get the number for Gino’s Pizza off the trophy!?

What Is Cork?

Living in another country is bound to bring about culture shock.  That was something I knew and was ready for… or at least I thought I was.  I can now see more clearly the bubble I was carrying when I stepped off the plane and entered the UAE.

Some culture shock situations that I have awkwardly walked myself right into are:

·  Sticking my hand out to shake the hand of a Muslim woman when I was introducing myself – It was the first day and I was nervous.

·  Clearing off my tray in the food court of the mall when I was done eating – The cleaning staff was confused as to why I was doing their job.

·  Sitting at the front of the bus a.k.a the women section of the bus – I failed to see the sign, oops!

·  Asking what is that sound at 5 am that wakes me up everyday – I did not realizing it was the announcement of Fajr, the first prayer of the day, from the nearby mosque.

I wish I could tell you that these kinds of culture shock situation have ceased, unfortunately I find myself in them almost on a weekly bases, (however none to the degree of awkwardness as to when I put my hand out to shake that women’s hand, that one takes the cake).  These situations occur mostly in class when I am in the middle of explaining a science concept.  The first time this happen to me was a really eye opener and it made me realize the grand task I had ahead of me in teaching in the UAE.

There I was starting the first lesson of the school year, I began to explain what was a cell and how Robert Hooke first discovered the cell when investigating cork tissue.  That’s when I got the question that completely caught me off guard… What Is Cork?

Now you may be thinking, what is so big about that, cork is something easy to explain.  However how does one explain cork to a group of Muslim students… it tops what kind of bottles? Wine? What’s that?... Yeah try digging yourself out of that hole. 

Over the months similarly situations have arisen, usually when trying to use an example to help clarify a concept.  Unless of course the example you are using involves either camel, cow or palm tree, because after that there aren’t many other living things living here.  But I have adapted and have found the learning experience very interesting.

Bryan The Camel says…

            Grab on to the rope, I’ll pull you out of the hole.

How Can 17 Degrees Celsius be Cold!?

Living in a desert country, where mid-day temperatures in September would reach close to 50 degrees Celsius, was not something easy to adjust to.  There would be days after walking home from school, (which is only a 10 minute walk) with the sun bearing down on me, and not a speck of shade anywhere insight to run for cover; where I would have to check to see if my shoes had A) Burst into Flame B) Melted, or C) Reached their Boiling Point.  I mean how else can one explain that kind of heat.  Some of you who may think this would be a welcome change to the cold weather now back home; I assure you, that kind of heat is not pleasant.

The most disheartening thing is I seem to be the only one suffering.  Others seem to be okay in the blaring rays of the sun; as I hug the concrete school walls outside during recess duty, in an attempt to get under what little shade exists.  But this has now changed, with the coming of the ‘winter’ months, and I use the word ‘winter’ loosely here, the temperatures have finally begun to cool down.

On one beautifully cool morning in December, I walked to school in a short sleeve dress shirt to delight in the 17-degree weather we were experiencing that morning.  Once I arrived at school I had to catch my jaw from hitting the floor, to my astonishment everybody was wearing their full winter entire; jackets, gloves, hats and scarves.  There I was in short sleeves, while others were rubbing their hands together and stamping their feet in an attempt to get warm.  I couldn’t comprehend what I was witnessing… How Can 17 Degrees Celsius be Cold!?

Everybody else thought I was crazy coming to school in short sleeves on such a cold morning; that’s adaptation for you!  The scorching 50 degrees Celsius weather will return shortly and I don’t even want think about it.  But until then, I will relish in the beautiful cool weather we are having.

Bryan The Camel says…

            Where’s my parka?!?!

Who sells the best shawarma?

When I decided on moving to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) to work as a science teacher last summer there was a lot that I didn’t know about the country I was going to call home for a for a little while.  I knew that that native tongue was Arabic and that I spoke none, (I have actually learned 15 Arabic words in the past 4 months and use them as often as possible.  My favourite being ‘hamdalla’, which mean ‘praise to God’) and I knew that shawarmas would be good there.  For those who do not know what a shawarma is, it is like a sandwich/wrap with shaved meat, either chicken, lamb or beef, tomato, lettuce and/or other toppings and a sauce, usually garlic.

Well I was right, shawarmas are sold everywhere, there is a different shop on every corner and each one claims that they make the best shawarma in the world.  So, this got me thinking… Who sells the best shawarma?

Now I have had my share of shawarmas since living here and I always try to go to some place different and see how they are made differently.  The one thing that always stays the same for me is that I always get chicken.  I’ve had shawarmas with many different toppings: tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, French fries, dried fruit and so on and different types of bread and sauces. (The worst shawarma I’ve had was made with no sauce or toppings, it was just dry chicken and bread; couldn’t even finish the thing).  I’ve had them from side street vendors and fast food places to formal restaurants and they are always different in each place.  But my vote for the best shawarma is actually found in a grocery store called Lulu Hypermarket.  I know what you are thinking, ‘a grocery store!?!?’  But trust me it is unbelievably good!  This grocery store has a huge prepared meal section, one that would put the prepared meal section in the grocery stores back home to shame.

The shawarmas at Lulu are made with very thin Lebanese bread and the shaved chicken is married with French fries, pickles and the most outstanding garlic sauce that leaves you not wanting to talk with anyone after you’ve had one.  So, when you find yourself in the UAE go visit lulu for a great shawarma.

Bryan the Camel says…

            Chicken Shawarmas from Lulu for dinner tonight!

Can we live without stress?

Maybe it’s the fact that I am still getting over the jetlag (traveling from Canada to Dubai with a 9 hour time difference will do that) and therefore have been up since 3 am with nothing do to but be alone with my thoughts, or the fact that stress seems to be my only companion since living in the Gulf, nonetheless it is a question that one dwells over…. Can we live without stress?

Since being up this morning I have stressed over the fact that I woke up so early and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Then as I lay their trying and failing to fall back asleep, I began to stress how I was wasting time and should just get up and do something more constructive with my time.  And the day has continued in this way jumping from one stressful thought to another.

So is this what life is? A constant bombardment of stressful thoughts that overwhelm our day-to-day life…I may be an exception, but it is hard to remember a time when I wasn’t stressed about something.  Then again it also acts as a comfort in a weird twisted way because when I am not stressed, I stress because I am not stressed.  So it’s a vicious cycle.  And even moving to a completely new country hasn’t stopped that.

Bryan the Camel’s thoughts…

Drink less espresso and get more sleep!