Busy Busy Busy - Part Uno

So, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. Boy, have I been busy! So busy, in fact, that I'm splitting this post into two.

First things first...the desert safari. Two words: So. Fun. I definitely recommend it when and if you ever come to this side of the world. Before we got started on our adventure, the drivers had to let some of the air out of the tires and the engines had to cool off.

After about 10 minutes, we got back in our vehicles and went dune bashing, which is when you drive up and down the sand dunes. It may not sound like much fun, but you'd have to see the dunes...like tall hills made of sand. Our driver, Yusef, was pretty cool. The ride was like a roller coaster: up, down, big drops, twists and turns. There were even times when it felt like the car was going to flip on its side. And since I was in the very back of the truck, I felt every bump. Here's a video of our experience. It can get quite bumpy.

We stopped to take pics of camels. On the ground, we saw what looked like black rocks all over the ground. It took someone (not me, thank God) to step on them to find out that those pebble-like things on the ground were actually camel poop.

Yes, this is camel poop...not rocks.

Three camels sharing a meal of yummylicious sand and poop.

The gorgeous sun set.

We had to take a break cos one of the trucks ended up with a flat tire (guess he let out too much air). Yusef was nice enough to stop and help the other driver out.

About 10 minutes later, we continued dune bashing. I admit, my stomach got a little queasy toward the end, but nothing happened. After dune bashing, we arrived at the area we were to spend the next few hours. There was camel rides, sand surfing, riding on ATV vehicles and, later, a yummy dinner under the stars. And the stars definitely shone that night. Because of Ramadan (Muslim month of fasting), they didn't have belly dancing, which I SO want to learn. Anyway, the desert safari was by far the best part of my move so far.

The rest of the week was filled with orientation and preparing the teachers for school (the vision, what we should expect as new teachers, do's and dont's, etc) They showed us a video of what Abu Dhabi should look and be like by 2030. My mind is blown away by their vision and the fact that God has chosen ME to be a small, yet significant part of it.