Dearest Family and Friends,
I
hear Mom had a wonderful 90th birthday/Easter party at her home on
Sunday. It really meant a lot to her to have friends and family come and
celebrate her life. Thanks to everyone that made it possible.
I
was a bit discouraged on my last letter. I'm sorry if it showed. Life
here in outer space can be such an emotional
roller-coaster. Speaking of roller-coasters, we got to ride the fastest
one in the world in Abu Dhabi at 220 kilometers per hour. You had to
wear goggles and keep your head against the rest because you shot out of
the building like a bullet! It was a blast. We also got to go to the
top of the tallest building in the world. It's called the Burj Khalifa
in Dubai and was featured in the last "Mission Impossible" movie. It
felt like being in a stationary airplane complete with an incredible
view.
We also visited the biggest mall in the world in Dubai. It
was pretty impressive with all it's glitzy stores, movie theaters, ice
rink, and large aquarium. You can pay money to put on scuba gear and
swim with the sharks but I wasn't too interested. I do that everyday at
home with three teenagers! We did run to the movie theater and had to
watch two movies in a row since theaters aren't allowed in Riyadh. We
saw "Jack the Giant Slayer" and "Oz the Great and
Powerful." It was fun. We go to Bahrain on the 25th and we're looking
for movie recommendations again.
So, to recap our Spring Break,
we took a cruise from Dubai that took us to Muscat, Oman. This is the
land that scholars believe Nephi built and sailed his boat. There is an
oasis in the Southeast portion of Oman that looks like you could be in
Hawaii complete with abundant wildlife. While there we visited the
beautiful Grand Mosque which was built of a lovely white stone with a
large room in the interior for prayer. It was beautifully decorated and
the people were kind and helpful, answering our questions. Here we
discovered the typical bathroom from around this part of the world and
we didn't quite know what to do with it. (See picture). It has a hole in
the floor which I guess you're supposed to squat over. The hose in the
picture is where water squirts out to clean you off, no toilet paper
included. It seemed like quite a messy affair and I
was glad we didn't run into that problem again.
It was nice to
be in a land where trees and flowers appeared green instead of the dusty
apricot color of Riyadh. We also went to the old souk complete with
narrow covered cobblestone streets, aggressive vendors trying to talk
you into their store, and beautiful Arabic souvenirs that are hard to
resist. Gale had to drag me by the arm to get me out!
We also
visited Fujairah, and Khasab where we took a dhow on a boat ride. A dhow
is a flat looking thing with two levels where they throw out Arabic
pillows for lounging on. We had a school of dolphins who swam alongside
our dhow complete with an arial show and friendly dolphin chatter. They
sure are social critters. The dhow took us out to an island in the
Strait of Hormuz where we abandoned ship and swam with colorful fish
(hopefully none with sharp teeth). The older Scandinavian women all
really enjoyed their dip in the cool waters and
were the first to jump ship.
The next day we visited Abu Dhabi
in the United Arab Emerites where Gale rented a van and we drove all
around looking for the brand new church building in an Islamic country.
When we finally found it, we jumped out and jumped for joy! It's very
beautiful and isn't your typical church building. We hope someday it may
be converted to one of those other beautiful edifices we cherish. We
spent the rest of the afternoon at the amusement park, Ferrari World,
riding roller-coasters and looking at Ferraris from their beginning. It
made me miss Lagoon. Sometimes the "old familiar" just feels nicer.
On Friday
we went to a nice villa in Dubai for church meetings and met some very
friendly members. Their villa was set up well for meetings and
classrooms and they seemed to have more freedom to worship. It was such a
nice day. No matter how much freedom they enjoy in Islamic countries,
the no-proselytizing rule is strictly
enforced.
On Saturday
we enjoyed our visit to Dubai Mall but didn't have the time to visit
the mall with the ski resort. I guess I'll have to come to Idaho to
visit a ski resort. Yippeeeeee!!!
As much fun as we're having
traveling and seeing these most interesting things, I can't wait to get
home in August. I miss you all so much. Please write when you get the
opportunity and keep me informed of all the happenings at home. Before
we know it, our airplane will be pointed at Idaho.
Love,
DeAnna and Family
