simpleasabc | ExpatWoman.com
 

simpleasabc

simpleasabc
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Latest post on 21 March 2013 - 10:05
I've seen Eat & Drink recommended on here lots of times and been to a lovely party where they were there providing delicious shawarmas. http://www.eatanddrinkgroup.com/eatanddrink-cateringservices-dubai.aspx Some day, I will get round to organising them for a party at our house :)
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 21 March 2013 - 10:00
Sorry, Naiyyar, only just seen this. I'm very bad at directions. The Courtyard Gallery is sort of behind the Times Square Centre on SZR, if you know how to get there? Instead of going to theTS Centre, you take the first right after it, with Al Tayer Motors on your left. You bear round and a large Spinneys warehouse is to your right. You follow that road almost to the end, and on your right, there is the Lime Tree Cafe, with the Courtyard to its right. I see from the LTC's location map, it is on 4B Street in Al Quoz 1: http://www.thelimetreecafe.com/Pages/Page.aspx?PageID=6
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 21 March 2013 - 08:46
I'm sorry that I can't advise you, as my own child is at the other end of the spectrum and I have no experience of primary years schooling here. From my short experience of schools in Dubai, it seems to me that different cultures expect different things of their schools and their children academically - there are those which are insistent on noses to the grindstone from an early age, and others which are more relaxed about these things. I wouldn't put my child back into the French system again, for example, as it was learning by rote from an early age and it didn't suit my child at all and meant that she never managed to get herself into a good homework routine as she was so stressed all the time when she was younger and should have been out playing. I haven't experienced it, but I understand that the primary years IB curriculum is possibly less intensive and academically orientated than others, although that's not to say the children don't learn the basics and more - but I may be wrong. I must say, I agree with you that children should be encouraged to enjoy their childhoods and not be under academic pressure from an early age, but it seems you and I are in the minority here, I'm afraid :( I have an idea of a couple of schools which, from what I've heard, might suit your child, but will wait to see if those with actual experience of them weigh in at all :)
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 20 March 2013 - 22:46
If you are at all interested in legal dramas, then "Suits" and "The Good Wife" are both excellent. There was a crime series called "Mayday" on BBC 1 a couple of weeks ago but it was a daily one and seems to have disappeared from the iplayer and I missed it all, so can't comment. Am also following "Broadchurch" and can't wait for the next epi..
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 20 March 2013 - 12:20
I wandered into the Courtyard next to the Lime Tree caff in Al Quoz last week and found the most wonderful shop full of kitchen equipment of all kinds, clearly used by chefs here. Can't remember its name - ah, here you go, Al Difaya Hotel and Catering supplies, http://www.aldiyafa.com/ - but they let me spend my money there, no problem :D Huge selection of stuff if you go and browse upstairs as well as down.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 20 March 2013 - 12:06
I think Blimey's spot on. I was in a state school in England and was given the opportunity to go to Greece on an educational trip at Greek Easter, I still remember it and we counted ourselves very lucky that our parents made efforts to afford to give us that chance. Ski-ing trips were also on offer from school, but there was no question of my going on those :)
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 19 March 2013 - 23:14
I don't think "smart casual" expects evening dress. Even a black dress and heels sounds OTT to me - but this IS Dubai.. I'd say no jeans or flip-flops.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 19 March 2013 - 23:09
We went to Littlehampton from Suburbiton by coach for the last two years of my (private) primary school. I went on two trips from my state secondary school - one by rail and boat, the other by road and boat, to Paris and to Greece. Both really exciting and adventurous - but that was the Seventies :D <em>edited by simpleasabc on 19/03/2013</em>
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 17 March 2013 - 20:49
I don't know if my experience is of any help - we lived in French-speaking Switzerland, so our daughter heard French when we went out to parent and baby classes and at nursery; we spoke English together at home, and my husband spoke Greek to her at home and she also heard Greek when we went on holidays. If you are a fluent French speaker, it will do your child no harm to hear that language from you, as well as Spanish. She can then get her English from nursery and out of the house. Which languages does your other half speak?
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 16 March 2013 - 20:03
Get a dishwasher anyway, particularly with guests staying, after a couple of days you won't believe you didn't have one before :) ETA: Sorry, can't advise on agencies, maybe if you tell them your circumstances, they will make an exception for you and let you have someone to work the hours you require. <em>edited by simpleasabc on 16/03/2013</em>
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 16 March 2013 - 20:00
I have no opinion on cravats, but I think if the groomsmen are not going to be wearing suit jackets, they shouldn't be wearing waistcoats, as it'll make them look like waiters, but that's just my instinct, no idea whether it's "right" or not. Maybe crisp white shirts with smart silk ties? Have a lovely time at the blessing, hope it all goes well.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 23:05
I always tip 10%, unless they've led me up the garden path :D
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 22:23
Sorry, this will probably be no help - I am coming up for 57 and lost my mother just before Christmas (my father died in 1989) and I am desolate and I didn't even get on with her. Please, make sure the child (and you, if you are the other parent and/or even partner), gets help for bereavement asap. <em>edited by simpleasabc on 15/03/2013</em>
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 21:55
Well, I didn't feel foolish and I felt extremely free! But you weren't free. You were prevented from leaving the country without the prior approval of your employer. That's not freedom. Anyway, unlike many of you, I am not and have not been in a position to just up and leave within hours if something bad happens in my home country. That is something I accepted when I chose to live abroad. Most Western expats don't have to accept it, and indeed most Western expats flat-out wouldn't accept it. We don't know any Westerners here who have to surrender their passports to their employers. In fact DH's company, which is a major employer in New Dubai, doesn't ask any staff, regardless of origin, to surrender their passports. They just keep copies on file. Finding this strange, AnonDubai - are there no circumstances under which you could imagine needing your passport immediately to return to your home country? I have had to travel frequently at very short notice over the past year to a dying mother and there is absolutely no way I would have relinquished my passport to an employer, if I had been working, in those circumstances.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 21:43
Lady Diana Spencer certainly wished someone had told her: [url=http://tinyurl.com/ditrans'>link[/url'> But I think most of you are too young to know what I'm talking about :D edited by simpleasabc on 14/03/2013 I do remember that photo!!!!!!! Pretty tame by today's standards! Really?
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 20:28
Well, WG, there's you and there's me and I'll bet Amelia makes three :)
simpleasabc
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 20:21
Lady Diana Spencer certainly wished someone had told her: [url=http://tinyurl.com/ditrans'>link[/url'> But I think most of you are too young to know what I'm talking about :D <em>edited by simpleasabc on 14/03/2013</em>
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 14:01
Coincidentally, came upon this thread just after having called 800-FIX for a plumbing problem. They came within an hour, arriving exactly when they said they would, and worked well and efficiently to deal with the problem. Sorted. Am very, very impressed. Previously, have tried Hitches & Glitches and Tool Time, but I think in both cases they wanted me to sign a contract, whereas JWFI work on an ad hoc basis, which may be comparatively expensive but I find is worth it for the service.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 11:24
Sorry, Derien, didn't realize I was participating in the EW version of "Just a Minute" (The object of the game is for panellists to talk for sixty seconds on a given subject, "without repetition, hesitation or [b'>deviation[/b'>".) :D
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 11:18
To be honest, it's so long ago I can't remember exactly when mine started dressing herself, but she has always been a dawdler so, knowing me, there is no way I would have let her dress herself for school if we were in a hurry, it would just have taken too long. Also, this was in a cold country where school uniform was not an option, so would involve vest, undies, tights, cord trousers, a blouse and a pullover or warm cardigan as well as a coat, scarf, hat and gloves.. Definitely not an option for my 4 year old by herself!!
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 10:49
Wow, I'm amazed and stunned that you would even contemplate your 4 year-old getting herself dressed for school without help! Congratulations!
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 14 March 2013 - 10:35
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292936/BBC-slammed-Pope-election-coverage-translator-fails-translate-Hail-Mary-Our-Father-prayers-correctly.html
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 12 March 2013 - 21:52
Apparently, it happened at Baker & Spice on the Marina Promenade last year, so maybe this year too? http://www.ameinfo.com/292015.html http://www.hozpitality.com/news/announcements/1st-farmers-market-at-dubai-marina-promenade
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 11 March 2013 - 07:27
I have to remind myself that, for some people, the tip is not just a perk, but the only way they have to make a living wage. Although I do agree that some of them (mostly maintenance men, in my experience) can be rude in their expectations, which unfortunately for them, means they lose the tip they were going to get from me. Things have probably changed now, but when I first worked in France, nearly forty years ago, cinema usherettes lived off their tips as they were not paid any wages at all. It may have been the same for waiters and waitresses as well, I'm not sure.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 13:06
Unless you're driving a lorry, as lorries have to stay in the two right hand lanes, whether or not they are turning. Well, that's been my experience on the Green Community roundabout..
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 12:59
Everyone forgot here:( Not everyone is from the UK here. ;) From Wikipedia: [b'>Mothering Sunday [/b'>is a Christian holiday celebrated throughout Europe [b'>that falls on the 4th Sunday in Lent.[/b'> Secularly it became an occasion for honouring mothers of children and giving them presents.[b'> It is increasingly being called Mother's Day, although that holiday has other origins.[/b'> In the UK it is celebrated in the same way as Mother's Day is celebrated elsewhere.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 10 March 2013 - 08:27
Simples, I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to be in the situation that many are like the Russian lady you speak of. Did your MIL say why she thought it made her unsuitable to employ? Yes, she couldn't bring herself to ask somebody who was better educated than she was to undertake menial tasks.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 09 March 2013 - 22:19
I hope your sister is hanging on in there and not suffering too much. Please God you make it back to say your farewells to her.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 09 March 2013 - 22:16
Pikachu, my children are very fortunate (as am I) that due to the circumstances of their birth they have every opportunity available to them. It may not be fair but it is a fact of life that often (but certainly not always) people that are lucky enough to have access to a good education are the ones that end up in the well paid professions [b'>whilst those who are not able to avail themselves of such an education end up being in unskilled poorly paid jobs[/b'>. As long as there is inequality in the world (and there will always be inequality in the world) there will be people who do the jobs that others may not be willing to do. I will always remember my Greek mother-in-law refusing to employ a very nice Russian lady as her companion/general dogsbody in Athens because the lady was a qualified engineer in her own country, who had emigrated to Greece because she would have a better quality of life as a cleaner..
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 09 March 2013 - 00:22
Could she not get an accompanying letter from the surgery, or a copy of the prescription to bring with her to Dubai?
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 08 March 2013 - 22:59
And, Tramadol is available here but our prescribing it is very restrictive. This is pure curiosity, desertdoc - is it only available for certain patients who are hospitalized, or are GPs allowed to prescribe it, also?
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 08 March 2013 - 22:50
I'd still like to understand why there is no word for "bullying" in the French language - does this mean that bullying does not exist in French-speaking schools? Recently, work-place bullying has been identified in French-speaking countries, by using the American word, "mobbing" to describe it. Interesting.... Of course there is bullying in French schools... awareness of the issue has just been a ltttle slower at catching up than in the English-speaking world. I went to school and witnessed it (albeit only a little). Incidentally, there is no word for 'fluffy' in French either but that doesn't mean there is nothing fluffy in France! Lol. I found it odd speaking to other mothers of children who were in the French system and there was just no way to name bullying - particularly when done by teachers.. You're right, it's there and has probably always been there, but unrecognized. "Harcelement" just doesn't cover it, and few of the people I knew would even acknowledge it. One friend of my daughter's had a black African mother and a white European father and was subject to racist bullying by other children, which was ignored by the French school.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 16:22
I think there's still more to this terrible story that I hope has been investigated.The blood test didn't even register the alcohol the girl had consumed backing up her story that she had only had a tiny amount and yet she was semi consious in the taxi and only had a partial memory of what happened.[b'> It sounds very likely to me that her drink was spiked with a date rape drug.[/b'> I've read about these cases before in the UK and her symptons sound horribly familiar. I assumed that was the conclusion which the police and judge had drawn. I don't know, can you test for Rohypnol that long after the event? If she was unconscious much of the time during the time they kept her in the flat, she was clearly being drugged in some way.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 16:14
Wow, that's a brilliant tip, Katie, I wish we'd known about it all those years ago!
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 15:00
Perhaps you could try the lady who prosecuted on behalf of the rape survivor mentioned in an earlier thread today?
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 14:43
I'm sorry to say that it in our experience, it is well nigh impossible to eradicate head lice once they are in a classroom, unless all the families in the group are singing from the same choir-sheet and they all work to stop the lice being passed from head to head again and again.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 14:43
Carluccio tonight, Rather tomorrow, saw Ian Rankin yesterday.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 13:53
Thanks for the response CallMeMaybe. Wellington has been our first choice, but I can't get through to admissions, and I don't even know they've started doing assessments, and/ or if they have completed all assessments already. We might be waiting in vain, and don't want to lose a place at any of the other schools. Have you tried emailing the registrar, making sure you have a return receipt for your mail? She is Ms Suada Cejvan, and her email address is: [email protected] Otherwise, if you can't get through to Admissions, speak to the school receptionist and explain - they are v helpful and will put you through to the registrar's assistant, if possible, or they will take a message and the Registrar's office will get back to you. If they don't, keep trying via the reception desk rather than the phone number. If worst comes to worst, you can always call Gems Head Office on SZR and they will definitely get things moving, if they don't know the answer immediately. Their number is: +971-4-3477770, website: http://www.gemseducation.com/MENASA/investors/contents.php?pageid=57 You might get on better now as school closes early on a Thursday but the admin bods are still around. Good luck!
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 12:47
My daughter has had experience of these camps: http://www.esportsuae.com/page/camp-information and thinks they are better than the ones mumcurious mentions. Just her opinion, as they say :D
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 12:34
Dorter had nits for years, they went round and round her school year because parents refused to imagine their precious children had head-lice and would never treat them for them, so just when we thought we'd got rid of them, they returned. Oh, the months of combing with conditioner we went through.. We found nothing worked to prevent them, we tried lavender oil and tea tree oil, but they still came back for more.. Even the extremely harsh, damaging chemical shampoos on the market didn't really work to get rid of them as there was a new, resistant, strain of lice around in Europe. Maybe they've reached Dubai by now? Regular conditioner combing was all that worked, we tried the comb that fries but it wasn't a huge success and we still had to conditioner comb to get the dead bodies out.. There you go, ladies who are having trouble dieting, that should have put you off your food for now :D
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 12:28
Unfortunately, a glass of grape and reasonably priced don't necessarily go together here. Do you like tapas? The Spanish restaurant at the Madinat is very pleasant, but quite expensive for what it is, I think: http://www.jumeirah.com/Hotels-and-Resorts/Reiseziele/Dubai/Madinat-Jumeirah/Restaurants--Nightlife/Casual-Dining/Al-Hambra/
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 12:22
I've changed the billing address for my UK cc to my UK S&S address. Works for me :)
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 11:11
OK, CdnExpat, that's what I said, but longer :D
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 10:40
Yes, how much depends what you go for, lunch, afternoon tea, evening drinks or dinner. He'll need to call for a reservation and they'll tell him how much then. http://www.atmosphereburjkhalifa.com/
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 10:17
Often teen babysitters who have done a Red Cross First Aid course and have a bit of nous are of more practical help and use here than a legally employed agency babysitter. For a start, they'll have their own parents to call on in an emergency if they don't know what to do. <em>edited by simpleasabc on 07/03/2013</em>
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 10:14
I'd still like to understand why there is no word for "bullying" in the French language - does this mean that bullying does not exist in French-speaking schools? Recently, work-place bullying has been identified in French-speaking countries, by using the American word, "mobbing" to describe it.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 09:52
You can always give them a gift of a voucher for a shop they like going to.
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 07 March 2013 - 09:42
Agree with Lolacat, and would add that most children need rebellion-room, so if you're going to follow a maxim, it should be "be what you don't want your children to be, so that when they grow up, they won't be you, and that way, they'll be what you want them to be" :D
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 03 March 2013 - 11:33
im staying here for the summer as im going back for easter instead and im really looking forward to it . Ramadan is in July this year and I cant wait for the shorter working hours and going to a couple of Iftars too which is always lovely. My sons going to Summer camp for a few weeks so that should keep him entertained and we are looking at a short break during the eid holidays. Im also going to make an effort this year to go to Zaks much earlier and pick up his uniform ! ( I say that every year but it doesnt happen ) The Roads are quiet and I actually dont mind the summer .. Honestly, the best time/life saver is getting uniform at the start of the summe r vacation! Yes, good idea! I got mine in May of last year for the September start. It made things much easier. Don't your children grow at all over the summer? <em>edited by simpleasabc on 03/03/2013</em>
simpleasabc
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Latest post on 02 March 2013 - 13:33
There is also something called Alpybus from Geneva Airport (you can get to the airport station (Cointrin) from the town centre station (Cornavin)) http://www.alpybus.com/home. You could also see a bit more of Switzerland by going on the Mont Blanc Express from Martigny: http://www.chaletlaforet.com/travel/trains The Geneva town centre bus station website (gare routiere de Geneve) is not functioning properly - I'm not sure if it's the fault of my browser of the website. Found this, though: http://www.chamonix.com/pdf/genevehiver.pdf
 
 
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