Ramadan Mubarak or Happy Ramadan

Ramadan is here again, and although it is our third one, it doesn't get any easier.
I won't go into the details of Ramadan and how the rules work as an expat, I wrote about this here a few years ago.

I am not sure if it is because we are here for the long haul and not escaping to Europe this Ramadan, or if it is simply that Dubai is very much home now and we are so comfortable here, but this Ramadan seems to be more annoying and frustrating than the previous. Although we have moved house since last Ramadan so we are not being woken at 4:30am by canon fire this year which is nice.

I find Ramadan an inoffensive celebration, in fact I like the festive atmosphere, the sense of generosity and community that you don't normal relate to life in Dubai - but I am still selfishly, ridiculously frustrated by small things daily.

Here are my top 5 annoyances this week:

1.   The simple fact that I keep forgetting it is Ramadan at all.... I can't even count the amount of 'oops' moments or near misses I have had. My lack of being able to remember is the most frustrating thing this week by far.

2.   Not being able to drink my morning coffee in the car on the way to work

3.   Hypoglycemic, hungry drivers on the roads in the late afternoons. Apparently hungry = angry and unable to drive like a decent human being

4.   Remembering to dress conservatively. Contrary to what you read in the media and see on the news, Dubai is quite a non conservative city. Over time you learn where to dress conservatively and where to dress for comfort. On a typical weekend you will find me in shorts and a singlet or a dress. But during Ramadan it is considered disrespectful to show your knees or shoulders more so than any other time of year, even in malls and locations not usually considered conservative.

5.   The changing hours of EVERYTHING. A lot of shops don't open until late afternoon, my gym changed its timetable and the classes now start late at night and run til midnight, kids indoor play centre opens late and until midnight. It is a nightmare for an anal, structure loving person.

This does seem like a rather whiny post, but this is our reality. There are also a lot of really cool, fun and positive things about Ramadan and I will write about these next week. For instance one of our favourite daytime restaurants is closed for Ramadan but has a pop-up Iftar restaurant open in the evenings that we are excited to check-out tonight!

A New Kind of Normal

Well here we are mid way through February already! After an amazing 6 weeks home in Australia we are back in Dubai.

Goodbyes are never easy and this time it was harder than ever to depart. In fact where possible, I just totally skipped the goodbyes this time.

This week is a big one for us - the beginning of our new 'normal' life and routines. I returned to work on Sunday and so far we are surviving. There were a few tears, mostly mine and surprisingly, a couple from Piper. It turns out our Daddy's girl has enjoyed having me around these last few months more than we had realised.

Frankie seems to be doing what she does best - cruising along and taking it all in her stride. She is as chilled out as ever, and thankfully still sleeping 10 - 12 hours straight at night.

All in all we are happy, healthy and looking forward to some adventures and a fun year!

Below are some more pics from our time at home with family and friends x

Four generations

Shelly Beach, Phillip Island

Beautiful day for paddleboarding..... if only my body was up for it!

Cousins

5 Signs You May Have Been Living in Dubai Too Long

1. When driving Piper to pre school she asks from the back seat "why are you driving me to school? Why don't we have a driver like the other kids?" Umm ok.... not sure this family of 3 needs a full-time nanny and driver!

2. When you realise you just got pissed off because Starbucks wouldn't answer the phone and you actually have to take the two minutes to get out of your car and collect your own drink on the way to work 

3. When after driving around the mall car park looking for a parking space for less than two minutes Piper comments "can't we just valet it Mum?"  (You can practically valet park anywhere in Dubai including the hospital, which actually comes in handy when you are rushing your Dad to emergency with a broken sternum from a roller coaster ride!)

4. When you turn up to a 4 year olds Pirate themed birthday party and you are genuinely surprised it is being hosted at a 5 star hotel and not on a private yacht

5. When it's 38 degrees outside and you declare it is still cool enough to dine outdoors but summer will be here soon

Piper's First Day of Pre School

Last Tuesday was Piper's first day of preschool. After a year with the school of Dad it was time to get back to the real world.

She was so excited on her first day and bounded off to school excited to play with friends and experience new activities, importantly the only tears were from Mum. Structured pre school runs from 8am to 1pm with extra curricular activities in the afternoon (we have Piper enrolled for full day care due to my working hours).

Her school activities include Arabic and French language classes, sport and water play.

All the current changes happening at the moment between, moving house, new nanny and Naz preparing to leave has been a little overwhelming for her and we have had a few tears this week but all will settle down soon.

So why have I been complaining about cannons?

Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting from dawn until sunset from eating, drinking and sexual relations. Ramadan lasts 30 days and its beginning depends on the sighting of the crescent moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar.

Ramadan was announced here on Thursday and declared with cannon fire..... in the park next to our house at 11pm at night. I cannot even begin to describe how loud it was or how high I jumped. They then proceeded to fire at 5:30am to announce the beginning of the days fasting and again just after 7pm to declare the days fasting over and the beginning of Iftar.

Thankfully the morning cannon fire has stopped and they are now only firing in the evening. Who would of thought my little family would get used to cannon fire!

Although we are not muslim we must abide by the rules of Ramadan. Here are few quick lessons we have had to learn and how we are coping so far.

1. We must abide by the laws and have to fast between dawn and sunset. This means no food, water, chewing gum or cigarettes in public (we try not to engage in sexual relations in public so no change there)

2. We are allowed to eat just not in public. In our home is fine, as long as we are not publicly visible. Most restaurants, mall food courts etc close down. Some cafes and restaurants do open in the day but with blacked out windows for non-muslims. However these are not as easily found as we were first led to believe. Basically we have to plan everything because food and drink is just not available. Last weekend we found a McDonalds that was open when were out and then had to hide in the car to eat it whilst frantically looking over our shoulder..... not fun at all and so very awkward.

Piper is allowed to eat and drink, children and pregnant women are excluded.

3. Basically home is our prison. It is extremely hot at the moment with daily temperatures ranging on average from 42 – 49 degrees. So you can imagine how limited our activities are going to be during the daytime without being able to consume liquids in public.

4. We use indoor play centres a lot due to the extreme heat. Unfortunately these are also affected by Ramadan and have adopted new opening times for the 30 days – our fave play centre will be opening between 8pm and 2am.... WTF???

5. Shorter working days hooray!! By law all employees in the UAE are only allowed to work 6 hour days during fasting. My office is going with the 8am – 2pm rule! Which sounded great in the beginning but the reality is I cannot get my work done in this time and end up working from home in the afternoons.

6. A lot of expats take overseas holidays during Ramadan. We are no exception and have planned to skip out on part of Ramadan and get a break from the heat. We will be away for two weeks. I have to go to Rome for a few days work so we are all going and then onto France.

7. No music or dancing is allowed during Ramadan – this includes in your home or car so we have to curb the wild parties for awhile. Not sure how this will go down with Miss O who thinks life is one big musical and insists on dancing, singing and performing everywhere we go. All night clubs and most bars outside of tourist areas close during Ramadan.

8. Most retail stores open after 4pm during Ramadan if at all outside of tourist areas. For those that do open during the day you can expect to be served by dehydrated hypoglycemic staff which will ensure Dubai’s already horrific levels of customer service will reach all time lows.

9. Iftar celebrations – Iftar is the first meal after the fast is broken daily and is a nightly celebration. A lot of restaurants have great prices and fabulous packages. If you are very lucky you may be invited into a local Arabic home to share Iftar. For the most part of life here expats and locals rarely mingle.

So that is my take on Ramadan. Basically 5 days in we are bored out of our brains.

Hopefully when we return from our holiday we can participate in some Iftar celebrations and enjoy the culture. But for now I cannot wait to get on that plane.

I will try and blog over the next two weeks but France is not known for it's wifi access. We are heading to Rome for three days (I am working) and then onto France. Paris Disneyland for a couple of nights (not sure who is more excited about that one, Piper or Naz). Then staying in Paris itself for a couple of nights before we pick-up our motor home and begin our road trip through northern France (first stop Champagne) then up to Luxembourg, Belgium and back down through France.

Some midweek laughs

Yesterday a friend sent me this hilarious tumbler that accurately portrays our crazy expat life here in Dubai..... right down to the same bank and the same issues!

I hope this makes you smile too!  Click here