Wonderful news Roo! May you continue to improve at a rapid pace.

Asgardshill, your trip sounds very exciting. Can't wait to hear how it compares to all the other continents.

Mags I wish you luck for a painless process to your CR license. I will be applying for my new one soon, or rather my husband will. I need his documented legal permission to drive in my new country. He gave me a sly look and said If you are good I will let you drive. My answer: H*ll no, you take the kids to school every day. Later he tried it again regarding my liquor license-- yes I also need his legal permission to drink alcohol. My answer: unprintable.

High: We all arrived on the other side of the planet safe and sound. The 15 hour flight was relatively painless and my kids were freakishly perfect the whole time. My big girl started school here today and likes it, although she was baffled by her first Arabic class.

Low: Jetlag with kids is torturous. For the past 4 nights we have all woken up around 2am and been unable to go back to sleep for the rest of the night. I am a walking zombie. And it is like a sauna outside.

Glad you all arrived safely MomOf2. I hope you all enjoy the experience of living in such a 'different' country. Had to laugh at the liquor licence. We lived in Bahrain and alcohol was freely available there so never needed a licence.

I hope you make lots of friends while you are there. When you are in a foreign land the friends you make become your family away from home.

Thanks Mom. I too, had a good laugh at your liquor license situation. If hubby knows what's good for him, he will apply for it pronto! When you are sweltering in the heat, just keep telling yourself, "No more snowstorms, no more shovelling, no more brutally cold winters." It won't take you long to acclimatize to the new time zone or the weather, I'm sure.

Just wondering...What does a 'single' woman do in these countries, if a husbands permission is needed for something?

Probably not a good idea to "borrow" someone else's husband?

Just a guess, but probably the father has to grant the permission then.

If you are a single woman working here, then your employer is your sponsor and they give permission. Your father would give permission if he also lives there and is your sponsor. Things work a little more slowly though if you don't have a man to arrange them.

And borrowing someone else's husband is a felony with severe penalties.

Yes - probably not a good idea.

And if you are an UAE woman or man living there you are not allowed to drink.

True, as all UAE nationals are Muslim. You must prove you are not Muslim to get a liquor license, although if you look western and have a name like Robert Brown they tend to skip the proof part.

Guess I'll pass. The no drinking thing wouldn't bother me, but all the other rules and laws probably would. I'd end up in prison...

Just to clarify.. my post "Just a guess, but probably the father has to grant the permission then." was in reference to veronikkamarrz's query of "Just wondering...What does a 'single' woman do in these countries, if a husbands permission is needed for something? " and NOT in reference to baldricksmum's post directly above mine, of "Probably not a good idea to "borrow" someone else's husband? "

Just thought I'd make that clear.

Mags

I thought it was clear Mags -- but I liked your clarification. Gave me a chuckle today.

Really pleased to hear your news Roos.

Thanks very much Karlyn ! And of course thanks very much to everyone that posted kind thoughts.

We don't know anything new today really. We're still not sure which strain of meningitis it is, but the important thing is that he seems to be responding to the treatment. When they tried to get a drain in him on Tuesday, they had to put it in his head as he didn't have any veins. They had to swap the place today, so had to shave his head so that it would be easier to do it. So he's a little uncomfortable today. The main fear with meningitis, of course, is the loss of hearing, but he seems fine and responding to his Nannie and his Pops. His Dad is hopefully home for ten days. So it looks like he is on the road of recovery

Oh, Jane . I too have just seen this and I am sending you many many big hugs. You're all in my thoughts and prayers, especially Elliot.

Jane, glad to hear things are starting to look up and that Elliot's daddy can be with him. Thanks for all the updates

Oh poor baby Thank goodness he's responding and his Dad is there! Thanks for the update, Jane!

Today's update He's doing fine. They haven't said which strain, but everything is OK. His heart scan shows nothing adnormal which is a relief. We don't know when he'll be home, but he's doing well, and is bright enough!

Excellent news Jane!

Ah, that's great, Jane.

Nice news thanks.