Football Frenzy and Middle East Hours of Operation

In Abu Dhabi, we are 9 hours ahead of time in Houston (becomes 10 when US switches to standard time).  Know what that means?

When Houston is waking up, we are beating traffic to get home and make dinner.

When Houston is going to bed, we are getting ready for our morning commute.

More importantly (at least these days around my house), when Sunday night football is being watched in Houston, we are relishing the last few hours before we hit the snooze button.

At least, that’s how it should be.  In my house, that means a 4am wakeup to watch football games via the SlingBox.



The adjustment to life here gets a little smoother each week.  Every new routine makes me feel more at home and lets me forget that for the first few weeks, I was counting my time here in days.

 

Simpler football watching layout in Abu Dhabi

Leave it to Sunday Night Football to bring fresh reminders that we are not at “home” and that there are certain things we will never get used to.

Football (college and pro) were such a part of our fall weekends.  Saturdays were made up of early morning long runs (every year, I would train for the Houston Half Marathon, Adam for the Houston Marathon) followed by College Game Day, hours of cooking and hours of football.  Sundays would have us juggling mass schedules, grocery shopping, lunch and Houston Texans football. 

These were routines we had built over years as a celebration of us both finally being done with grad school and Adam passing the final section of the CPA exam.  We had spent years after getting married studying for exams, working on school projects, working on work projects…basically no free time.  When we finally “finished,” there was a clear “before” and “after” feeling.  Around 2009, we began discovering hobbies and free time.

Both of us starting new jobs in Abu Dhabi, though challenging, didn’t feel like a shift in the earth’s crust.

Moving our belongings and having to buy more dreaded IKEA furniture felt awkward, but necessary. 

However, having a difficult time finding ingredients to cook our favorite tailgate recipes and having to develop odd sleeping habits to watch football…that has felt crushing.

Our most beloved, hard-earned hobbies are suddenly difficult to coordinate.

Work days here are Sunday – Thursday.

So, Saturday college football is celebrated by blasting College Game Day as Adam puts the finishing touches on his tailgate meals.  We usually only catch the beginning of whatever SEC game is getting the early time slot.

The following morning (at the crack of dawn), Adam wakes up to watch whatever’s left of Georgia or Alabama football games. 

Typical pork sections at UAE grocery store



Sundays are trickier as even Texans noon games mean a 9pm start for us (and it’s a work night).  So, we stay up as long as we can and avoid the internet unless we want a spoiled score.



Meals can also be difficult.  Anyone from Texas or the South knows to tailgate means to include pork in some form, in any, or all of the dishes.  Though available at quite a few grocery stores, pork is pricey and you have to be very careful about the cuts of meat you buy.  You have to be very specific as, for example, a “Boston butt” is not standard terminology in these parts.  So you see, there are all sorts of pieces that have to be carefully planned to achieve a traditional Wilson weekend.

I can’t help but wonder what it will be like once we’re transferred back.  How easy will everything feel? 

I know there will be new logistical issues involving the baby (welcome complexities).  We’ll need to balance our hobbies with baby-tailored weekend activities.  Maybe this was God’s way of preparing us for living back in the US with kids.  For the past few years, we have become two people very comfortable in not having any challenges to our spare time. 

Having to juggle and accept compromise involving time differences, the need for sleep and tough ingredient searches may be annoying, but in the end, they may be happening at just the right time and to just the right people.

A little inconvenience now could be helping us develop patience for the challenging years ahead as parents.

Besides, I’ve already warned Adam that if Disney “Princesses on Ice” is in town on the same night as the SEC championship game, he may have to check scores from his phone while waiting in line for Savannah’s pink cotton candy!