Zoology: And we ain't lion!

It's the ciiiiiircle of liiiiife! And it mooves us aaaawll!



You may be wondering why we haven't posted any pictures of Jon lately. Well, the carb-rich cuisine doesn't agree . . . .



So we've been to the Al Ain Zoo twice now. The firs time was at night, and there was a lot of activity, but very few decent shots. The second time was today, and Riley took pictures of everything. We'll rummage through and find some spectacular shots to share. It really is an exceptional zoo: casually laid out, with large, natural spaces for all the animals. Even at 1:30 today, under a high sun and in 32 C, we were able to see everything but the crocs (green water), though many of the larger mammals were lolling about in the shade. (J. Young, when you come next year we'll take you around.)

They even have penguins! Last week we went to the bird show--pretty decent. Today we had a complimentary zebra-painted "train" ride: like stretch golf carts with a land cruiser engine. And it's cheap: our whole fam-damily gets in for about $10. There are large picnic spaces, hourly mistings (a cool mist dispensed over walkways), and room galore. One of the highlights.

We'll be getting to more places in the coming weeks, local and not-so. We hope to get to Salala in Oman in two weeks: this is reportedly where (for all you Mos) a certain family boarded homemade ships around 600 B.C. We'll share discoveries later. Sounds like a beautiful place, but our going depends on my holidays. Dec. 2 is a national holiday, but unless I get the 3rd off, it might be difficult to go. Anyway, we'll keep you all posted.

In other news:

Jon's job is getting tolerable, and busier. He has supervised the debate society this semester, and this week they placed third at a public speaking competition. They worked very hard, and were very sweet about everything. Bright spots occur, however infrequently, and he'll soldier on.

We bought a digital video camera this week, in hopes of improving the quality of our home videos. Problem is the mac won't recognize the file types, so we've an obstacle or two to overcome before we can start sharing the fruits.

Alberta connection: the Browns, a yank family living in Abu Dhabi that came with us to the zoo today, spoke admiringly of Elder T. Smith from Southern A. We were proud to announce that he and his son were our family doctors, and that the son and his wife were also among our very best of friends.

Two days ago we went to Abu Dhabi for American Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun. There were three other families, all with kids of various ages, and the food was fantastic. Interesting company. Good to connect.

Al AIn Branch Times:

(Too little for its own update this week): we met in the new digs for the first time, and all agree we need rugs and curtains asap. The echo was tremendous. Three nights cleaning floors and windows last week, and there was still a fine film on the tiles that we need to remove. But it was good to be there. The BP dedicated at the outset: it was a beautiful experience. Need to set up a history.

More next week, including additional video, insh'Allah. Meantime: 6 comments on last week's post? Six comments!? Just because it was Wendy directly? I give and I give . . .

Clarificatus: I do the typing because I have the surest fingers and I know how to spell and punctuate. But most of the time everyone participates. A little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, s'il vous plait!

That's all for now. More next week, once I get over my petulance. Sniff.

Shokran. We love you, Detroit!