One last update

Well, the trip is winding down which is hard to believe. We have just three more days left here and then we will be back home with you all. We have very mixed emotions about leaving this wonderful land and returning home. We are excited to see you all yet sad to end our experience here.

Though we are coming close to the end of the trip we are still keeping ourselves quite busy. We spent our last day at the hospital on Monday. There was much more activity with the Eid being over. We spent Monday evening at the home of the Director of Nursing at the hospital. She made us an incredible meal and then we spent the rest of the evening playing card games with their sons. It was a night of many laughs and a few "friendly fights." We have some pretty intense card players in this group.

On Tuesday we visited the local language school. We learned about the program and had a chance to mingle with the students. We were surprised at the intensity of the curriculum and impressed at how well their graduates can speak Arabic. Half of our group visited an Indian home for lunch and the other half went to a different home for dinner. We spent our free time doing some last-minute journal writing so that we could turn them in to our professor. Yes, we actually have to do some work for this course :) It was a good reminder that this is NOT just a vacation. Right....

A few of our girls ventured up for a night on the roof last night. Three of the five made it the whole night though it does get chilly. As a matter of fact, it got all the way down to 60 degrees! I know, it's frigid, but we try to survive. We will be in for quite the shock when we get home on Sun.

We had an appreciation tea for the hospital staff this morning. There is absolutely no way for us to ever repay them for the kindness and hospitality that they have shown us these last three weeks, but we thanked them the best we could. After a few long naps (especially by the roof sleepers) we gave each other presentations about the cultural interviews we had done. (We should maybe mention that we gave the presentations on the front porch. In the sun.)Yeah...that class stuff again. It's rough, but we find ways to manage :)

We spent the evening at the home of one of our professor's friends. She made quite the feast for us. One of the girls saw dinner arrive on the back of a truck with two men that worked together to carry the large tinfoil-covered platters into the house. We were all a little taken aback when they uncovered them to reveal an entire goat, head and all, on top of a pile of rice on each platter. One girl had a hard time eating because she swore the goat was staring at her for the entire meal. The yellow juice that squirted from the insides wasn't very appetizing either. We've heard that the guest of honor usually receives the brain. Too bad we weren't that lucky....

We most likely won't have the opportunity to write again from the UAE. Time has flown but we all feel like we have experienced SO MUCH in the quick time that we have been here. There truly is not a better country in the world to learn about cultural diversity. This place epitomizes the idea of a "melting pot."

Hopefully we will see you all soon. Thank you for your prayers throughout these last few weeks. Please continue to pray for safety as we head home and go our separate ways.

Love you all,
The UAE group