Walking Girl

Emma took her first proper unaided steps yesterday. And once she'd done it once, she kept on doing it.

Or so I'm told. Of course, as with all these things, it happened while I was at work, although fortunately the matinee performance was being repeated in the evening.

It's weird because we've been trying to encourage her to walk for a few weeks ever since she first became impressed with herself at having been able to stand unaided. It would be interesting to know what was going through her mind that made her decide on this occasion she was actually going to give walking a go, rather than allow her knees to buckle such that she collapsed in a heap on her well padded bottom before setting off at great speed on all fours.

But then I guess I'll never understand how her mind works - she may be only 1, but she is of course also female.

Back to School

A phrase that used to send me into bouts of depression whenever I used to see those big posters of kids in uniform clutching handfulls of coloured pencils hanging from the ceiling of British Home Stores, the whole concept of "Back to School" has proved to be an entirely different experience for Jack.

He started Foundation 1 (effectively nursery still, but nevertheless based at Dubai British School and requiring him to wear a uniform) on Tuesday and he loves it. He went to bed last night saying "But I just can't wait for school Daddy - I want to go now!". I'm sure it won't last.

Earlier in the day I asked him what he had done at school during the day - a random selection of stories, play-doh, outside play and painting it seems, but "tomorrow Daddy, I've got a French lesson". As it turns out, Thursday's is French, Mondays and Tuesdays is PE, and on Sunday he starts Arabic.

That's two foreign languages then. At the age of 3!

However, embracing the idea of having him learn some foreign languages, last night Michele and I taught him how to say "Hello" and "thank you" in French.

And just before bed, when Michele asked him for a big hug and a kiss, his little inquisitive mind asked "Mummy - how do French people kiss?"

We'll leave that lesson for another day I think.

The Earth moved for me

We had an earthquake in Dubai yesterday! Well, actually, it was an earthquake in southern Iran, which created what might more reasonably be described as a tremor here in Dubai. Nevertheless, it was all quite exciting. I was sat at my desk when I suddenly felt a little giddy. Thinking it was something medical, I stood up, which was when the lights started to swing and the windows started to creak. And you could visibly see the buildings swaying a little.

It had all pretty much finished by the time we had a chance to realise what it was. But having never experienced it before it was a little weird. Clearly it was a new experience to many of the people in the same and surrounding buildings, all of whom were evacuated to ground level but then decided, in their general milling around pending further instructions (which never came) manner, to take shelter underneath the overhanging parts of the buildings in order to escape the heat. A little bit of sun clearly expected to pose more of a threat than the possibility of the building above them collapsing.

It's amazing how stupid normally rational, professional people become in such situations.

It also never ceases to amaze me that when the directive is subsequently issued that everyone in the area should go home and take the rest of the day off, some still consider their work and client demands to be more important and stay. I knew where my priorities lied and was gone like a shot.