We had a great day yesterday when one of Charles's students took us out to the desert with him and his cousins. First, we went in dune buggies out into the desert as the sun was going down. The guys drove very fast and took us to where some other men were flying their falcons. One man sent up a remote-controlled plane and the falcon flew after it to catch the live bird that was attached to it. We got to hold the falcons on our arms. We also had a short ride on a horse. Henry went with a boy on a quad bike across the dunes.
After that, we went to Mohammed Saeed's farm, where they lit a fire and we sat there under the stars for a bit. These were adolscent boys, so organization was not their strong point, and there were amusing moments only 16-year-olds could come up with. Finally, we drove to Mohammed Saeed's house because his father wanted to meet Charles.
The family lives in a compound - all the brothers of Mr Al Kaabi (who is a police colonel and studied in Sheffield and was in Cambridge in 1996 - when I was there! We probably passed each other on the streets - he lived in Girton!) have a house there. We went to the very nice majlis where we were served falafel, fruit, cake, chocolate, coffee, mango juice. We got to meet Mohammed's mother and grandmother. Then we went to his grandmother's majlis and had more food and tea and talk. They were very gracious and hospitable. Their English was great, needless to say, and they welcomed us to their home and country.
It was quite a day. Six hours of desert, dune buggies (from hell - I regret to say that I got scared at one point and had to get off), and hospitality.
Today, I went to see the showjumping at the Equestrian Club nearby, too. Lots of beautiful horses jumping over barriers.
After that, we went to Mohammed Saeed's farm, where they lit a fire and we sat there under the stars for a bit. These were adolscent boys, so organization was not their strong point, and there were amusing moments only 16-year-olds could come up with. Finally, we drove to Mohammed Saeed's house because his father wanted to meet Charles.
The family lives in a compound - all the brothers of Mr Al Kaabi (who is a police colonel and studied in Sheffield and was in Cambridge in 1996 - when I was there! We probably passed each other on the streets - he lived in Girton!) have a house there. We went to the very nice majlis where we were served falafel, fruit, cake, chocolate, coffee, mango juice. We got to meet Mohammed's mother and grandmother. Then we went to his grandmother's majlis and had more food and tea and talk. They were very gracious and hospitable. Their English was great, needless to say, and they welcomed us to their home and country.
It was quite a day. Six hours of desert, dune buggies (from hell - I regret to say that I got scared at one point and had to get off), and hospitality.
Today, I went to see the showjumping at the Equestrian Club nearby, too. Lots of beautiful horses jumping over barriers.
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