Well there’s a place we’ve never been! It was about a two hour drive from Sharjah University to Abu Dhabi. Although we saw the somewhat tamer skyline, we didn’t actually go into the city because we had the opportunity to give a speech to a lovely group of about 12 couples during their weekend family retreat at a hotel to die for. Wow, do we love immersing ourselves in a different world!
Knowing that there was at least two feet of snow in the driveway at home, it was especially sweet to enjoy the sun and sand and especially learning from these good parents. The hotel was simply fabulous! And the food matched perfectly!
Of course the most interesting part was the people we met who were from all over the Middle East and beyond: Jordon, Lebanon, India, Kuwait and Dubai. It was so fascinating to get the Arab view of what is going on in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that is going on at the present moment. There are always two sides to the story…that’s for sure!
I sat by a woman who told me the details of her arranged marriage in India. She said that she was introduced to her future husband after family members thought they would make a good couple. After a ten minute conversation and then about 6 months to think about it, they were married in a 10 day celebration with about 600 guests. When I asked how in the world they actually had that many close friends she said, “Oh they aren’t all close friends. Friends tell friends who also tell friends and we really have no idea how many will actually come. Many have 1000 celebrants. She was a darling little mother of three young children and she seemed completely happy with her life!
Here are a few of the faces we spoke to…all with fascinating stories behind the faces! (Flash on the iPhone not so good here. He’s not really green!
President of the Organization we spoke for….Hassan
Here is the whole group after our meeting! They were terrific!
Their stories were amazing! How lucky are we?
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