Sunday, June 26, 2011

Summer in Dubai - An Emirati Wedding, Dissertation Writing and a trip to Turkey

The 2010-2011 school year has finally come to an end. The years seem to be flying by faster and faster - a sure sign of age. Overseeing 50 teachers and 2000+ students obviously keeps me very busy. Surprisingly, I was able to present at 2 conferences - 1 in April on the Perceptions of the Spoken Dialects of Arabic in Jordan and another in May on Classroom Observation and Feedback at the British University in Dubai. And just last week, I got my first book REVIEW published - Varieties of English in Writing by Raymond Hickey. At least I don't feel so isolated from academia any more. Ingrid & I will be spending most of the summer here, so I can work on my dissertation, which I really need to finish, and we can get a bunch of doctor's and car appointments out of the way. We are also invited to an Emirati wedding in the UAE city of Fujairah (pic above), on the Eastern Coast/Indian Ocean. One of our co-workers will be wed on 7 July. Unlike last year, the weather has been quite comfortable. So far, we've only had a few really hot days (110+) and a couple of humid ones (dew points in the low 80's and humidity 90%). It's still nice enough to go to the pool and beach. Let's hope it stays this way. Then on August 2, for Ingrid's birthday (Aug 9), we are going to Bodrum, Turkey for 2 weeks! We rented an apt right on the beach where you can take a 20 minute boat ride over to Kos, Greece. It should be an adventure...