It's been a really arduous week for Iola. Thank goodness she can unwind on her new swing!


Arduous because it was my first week of "work." I can't call it work without quotation marks until I get paid, which is not forseeable. I told my "boss" that I don't mind working for free to learn the ropes of the import-export world of Abu Dhabi, but I sure didn't come all the way here to lose money, which is exactly what happened this week, since childcare isn't free anymore. At least the hours are flexible.

Hence Iola's stress. She's learning Pashto from her wonderful babysitter, but so far that learning has only been exhibited in a shrinking of her english vocabulary. While we were in America she spoke about 20 words fairly commonly, and now they have condensed to four: mama, daddy, ball, wee! But mostly mama. Meanwhile her other tools of expressiveness have expanded; when she wants to go for a walk she brings her shoes and points at her backpack and won't take no for an answer.

My "boss" has a lot of colorful stories about Abu Dhabi; he's been here for 35 years. One time, he took a bunch of money out of the bank and put it in an envelope and stuck it in his briefcase. During the course of the day he put it on his desk, where it was forgotten when he left for home. That night he got a call from the airport saying one of his staff members was trying to leave the country. The guy was apprehended with the money and charged with theft.

It turns out that when you are the sponsor for anyone's employment visa, you are notified by SMS or a call when they pass through immigration. Then you have half an hour to figure out why they are leaving the country and can request airport authorities to stop them before they board the plane. Sponsors have a lot of power. This was very interesting to me; I hadn't thought through or heard that detail before.

It is the Haj Eid tomorrow, as well as Thanksgiving, so all the grocery stores are low on supplies. We are celebrating on Friday.

I have a video of this swinging evening at vimeo.