Mother and Son Make The World Their Classroom for a School Year: November 14, 2014

Last day of our Fall Adventure. We have done so much and we have gone so hard these past few days in UAE we were dragging but we still hadn’t done the one experience we really came to Dubai to do and that was Ski Dubai- the indoor ski area at the Emirates Mall. This morning we had a lot to pack for since we were going to go ski and then we wanted to go to church. All churches essentially meet on Friday in these Arab countries, since Friday is the Muslim Sabbath and Sunday is the start of their work and school week. We figured that out too late in Egypt and had been really missing going to church while we have been traveling. We also felt like with all the decadence of these past few days were could use some down to earth, spiritual message and an opportunity to really interact with people that live in Dubai and an opportunity to pause, give thanks and take of the sacrament. After church we also wanted to see the old part of Dubai, the historical part and where the boats come in with goods and check out the Souks. (Normally we would not do all this activity on the Sabbath, and we don’t ski on Sundays but since this is Friday and we will be home on Sunday and go to our own church there and keep the Sabbath at home ).

We walked through the mall to Ski Dubai. Crazy to see people in shorts and bend a wall people bundled up in ski gear and snow everywhere!! We bought a ski pass and a super pass so we could do the tubing, toboggan and the zorb! Our pass thank heavens included gloves but no hat, so we opted for helmets inside since it was below freezing- like 20 degrees Fahrenheit! We were given a ski outfit that essentially fits over your clothes and then booted up and grabbed our skis and poles. Everything was Rossignol, so funny that their headquarters are in our home town in Park City. Off to the slopes! We just couldn’t believe it - it was freezing and as expected covered in snow. They had a chair lift and then an extreme (experts only) palma horse. Each run took about 45 seconds just casually cursing down. It was so funny- there were ski lessons for little kids and boarding lessons…. it was like a mini ski world. Once the palma opened up we rode that and honestly it was a bit extreme, went straight up and a much faster way up the hill. The hill seemed like it was 250 yards (compare everything to a golf course for distance). They even had a hot chocolate stop in the middle of the “mountain” so that you could warm up and “enjoy the view”…hahahaha. It just kept us laughing and amazed really. What a cool deal for people to teach their kids to ski here and then go on a real ski vacation. Funny we met some guy from Britain on the lift and he was here just practicing up for his winter vacation to Austria. After an hour of skiing- we swapped our skis for snow boots. As we walked into the snow cave that leads out to the other winter entertainment, it was pretty spectacular the carved dragon in the ice cave and just had created a total winter wonderland. We rode a toboggan run which looked like a kitty ride honestly but when you throw yourself down it on a thin slippery sled we were hauling around these solid ice turns and it was so violent we were cracking up. We both got to the end almost in tears we were laughing so hard, especially since we had just seen some father push his 2 year old who was totally dying and feraking out down in a sled by herself. I can’t imagine how totally freaked out she was when she got to the bottom!! They had a mini tubing hill and a taller tubing hill and a zorb. We wrapped up on Ski Duabi experience by purchasing a couple ski hats and then making a quick change into our church clothes for our more peaceful afternoon.

Robinson, who was with the hotel and had been just a gracious and friendly guide to us while we were in Dubai, had located the church while we were skiing. It was tucked back into a neighborhood. It was in a larger home that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had rented. There was no sign on the building but the address we had found on the mormon.org website. We were glad he had scoped it out or I don’t know if we would have found it easily and made it in time. There are no missionaries or official missionary work allowed in Arab countries, decreed by those countries’ governments, but other faiths are allowed to hold their own services in UAE. And our church has a good sized congregation here in UAE has one church with two congregations (wards) that meet inside.

As we entered church I found it amazing and it reconfirms my faith that almost anywhere you find yourself in the world, you can find an LDS congregation and because of the amazing and inspired order of the church you have a similar experience everywhere. At every LDS church, in every ward you will find people sharing their knowledge of truth in words and in actions. There are talks that members of the congregation give, we partake of the sacrament - where we reconfirm our love and commitment to Christ and show gratitude for his loving sacrifice, we pray and sing together and there are always friendly people who will welcome you- visitors are always welcome. People in the church were from all over the world, since it was Duabi- Americans, British, Phillipinos, Japanese, Indians,… Everyone was here to work and a few like us were here for vacation. It was a great melting pot and the message was about making right choices no matter where you are. We all have agency to make choices: good choices bring good consequences, bad choices can bring bad consequences…. One woman spoke about how although for most of the people in Dubai, this isn’t their native home, but together they support each other as a family. I thought how nice it would be to have this family of church members that share your faith and values and how important it would be to have this grounding influence in a place who’s primary focus is bigger and better and more and more…. I needed church today and it was nice to bring our new friend Robinson who has been escorting us around. He said when he grew up in Sri Lanka he was a Christian and went to church with his family each week. Here he often is working on Fridays because this is the busiest time at the hotel. He was excited to join us, he said it was nice to go to church with a family and appreciated the messages. It was nice to share this peaceful time with him.

Following we asked that we don’t take a car down to the old part of town but would like to take the subway. So glad we did. They are so clean, you can’t eat or chew gum on their metro. It was only a couple dirhams to catch the metro and the stations where beautiful and had gorgeous glass chandeliers and were so clean. Easy and fast way to get around, but they were packed because today is a weekend day and everyone was on them. After one transfer- the subway only has two lines- we got off in the old city. Old city means 50 years old ;) The oldest thing is the Sheik’s old palace, made from mud bricks and held the oldest buildings when they had started developing Dubai after the UAE was created in the 1970s. They had an interesting historical museum that was less than a dollar to go in, subsidized by the Sheik I think to remind people from where and what all this had grown up from. We walked around the waterfront and hopped on a water taxi that was 1 Durham less than 30 cents across the water to where all the boats where off loading from around Asia and Lebanon and where they were bringing goods and taking back goods. These boats looked like large fishing boats painted blue with wooden carved banister rails it looked like around the captains quarters and then loaded up with goods coming or going. It was fascinating really since in the USA you only see huge ships that need cranes to off load huge containers. It was funny to see Gilligan Island looking boats that were out sailing around the Gulf and Indian and Arabian seas. Off loaded and unloading everything from carpets to dishwashers. We walked through the spice markets and purchased some Frankincense and Myrrh and a couple souvenirs for Sam. I was hoping to find some brass platters or Bedoin jewelry but instead found millions of dollars of gold and necklaces that were so huge they would almost have to be worn like armor. There were hustlers but not nearly as aggressive as Egypt. We were then totally exhausted. We took another short water taxi ride back to catch a taxi to the hotel. The boats were all lit up on the water and I honestly think the best way to see the area was at night, where it does just seem magical with lights and mosquess lit up against the water and boats moving around and sound of prayer calls coming from minarets.

We rested for an hour and had a bite to eat in our room while I wrote up some thank you notes for all the wonderful treatment we had received. We loaded up and said goodbye to Mr. Sam the head concierge and Robinson, who had taken such good care of us and off the airport. Thank heavens we got there early because although checkin was a breeze the passport line was crazy0 100s of people in line. Then we went through 3 securities the last being as we got on the plane, every single item of our bags and everyone’s bags were checked and every device that has an on/off switch was checked. Thank heavens Sam’s laptop still flashed needs charging because if it doesn’t turn on or show any life, they will confiscate it. The flight seemed filled with US military. This must be one of only a few connections that goes right from the Arabian Peninsula to the US. Our flight is 16 hours tonight! This takes the cake as the longest flight yet. Just finishing up my journal on this flight, after I had a solid 9 hour sleep- exhausted!! Excited to come home to rest up and see family and friends. It has been an incredible adventure!!