We're here!

We just want to report that we are safe and sound in the UAE. All of our flights were uneventful except for the fact we road the Oakland Raiders plane from KL to Abu Dhabi. I was hoping that they might have a mini field on board for us to practice our football skills, but alas it was just a very normal plane. We slept the bulk of that flight anyway...

Before I describe the amazing place we are staying, I will highlight some of the fun parts of our journey.

Our flight from Chengdu to KL was full of people we knew, so it felt somewhat like a school trip. Middle school boys were playing games and walking up and down the aisles. I to do everything in my power to suppress the teacher in me from telling them to SIT DOWN! On that flight I did not sleep AT ALL and had fun playing Catan on Alan's new ipod touch. I unfortunately lost but it was fun. We also managed to play some card games as well. The TV shows and movies were not free on our flight so we didn't spend the whole time staring blankly at a glowing screen.

In KL we checked in for our next flight without too much worry and found some food. I don't know if it was too close to closing or what but they gave us a ridiculous amount of Malaysian food and only charged us half price. It was yummy and I definitely loved saving some money.

During the bulk of our flight to Abu Dhabi the lights were all out in the cabin. We tossed and turned in our seats, but still got a lot of rest. At one point in the flight I woke up and peered out the window. There were so many stars! It was so beautiful and the big dipper was right out the window. Also there must have been no clouds, because I could see city lights below. Everything was all twinkly.

Our hosts graciously picked us up at the airport at about 2:15 am and then we arrived at their home at 4:30am. We slept in today until about 8:30. The place we are staying is....a mansion! It is so big and our room is really really nice with a bathroom inside. We will post pictures later, but wow. All the floors are hard stone and there is a great staircase in the entrance to the house with a stained glass skylight on top. We got to eat yummy bagels and cream cheese for breakfast along with a lot of other yummy things.

We waked around the yard today (it is all within tall walls, but all houses we've seen so far have also had them). We discovered a basketball hoop and ball so we shot a little. We weren't very good so I think we are just going to stick with watching NU to see how it is really done.

I think this vacation is going to be great!

-rachel