Everyday Life in Dubai

We finally have a routine and it feels so good! Our mornings begin quite early. Most days, the kids and I leave before Steve heads off to work (a big change). Steve helps me get the kids up and dressed before 7am. They prefer to have him comb their hair. Apparently, I am too rough. At 7:15 we are out the door to begin our day. We drop Anna off at DAA (Dubai American Academy). Then three days a week, Kate goes to Sea Shells Nursery (their name for a preschool). I usually head off to a yoga class on those mornings and run my errands before picking Kate up at 12:30. We then pick up Anna at school at 2:45 and head outside with her friends to the school playground until our tummies begin to rumble or I get tired of pushing kids on the swings. On Tuesdays, Anna has resumed her violin lessons with a nice young Syrian woman named Rasha. She is sweet enough to try to combine her more traditional method with our Suzuki method. Anna has started to read notes with Rasha. On Thursdays after school, Kate attends “Dance Fantasy” class at the Dubai Fine Arts Theatre in the Mall of the Emirates. She and 12 other little four-year-olds dance around in their pink tutus. The moms often gather for a coffee in the café downstairs until it is time to pick up our whirling ballerinas. Kate loves the class so much that she asks to go every day. --Maria