We can just call it a lake.

So we finally made it to the beach.  It's super close (maybe a kilometer away) and I can't believe it took me so long to get there.  My excuses were a) too tired and b) so much work to lug all our stuff to only stay for an hour or so.  Well, we're not tired anymore and it's not like the U.S. where the beaches are crowded and you have to lug all your stuff.  Here you can just park on the beach right next to where you want to play, or pay a couple bucks and go to a beach with lounge chairs, umbrellas, and a playground right there (we haven't made it to that one yet).  It was great! 

We have already visited twice this week.  I hope to go more before the weather is too hot. We went Sunday night with another American family we met here in our apartments, and then I 

went back with the kids on Tuesday morning.  There are so many seashells, Asher had a great time collecting once he realized that there weren't critters living inside.  (the first night the Dads caught lots of crabs).  Collecting shells- correction, seashells, ("shells are like macaroni Mom, these are seashells") was right up Asher's alley. There is such an abundance and variety it was fun to give him little "assignments" and have him go to work. (ie, look for a white one shaped like a little cone or look for a bumpy one with orange on it).

Here's a taste of our conversation on the way home from the beach.

Asher: "mom, why are they called seashells, does seashells start with C?"

me: "No, sound it out, what does ssss-seashells start with?

Asher:"ohhh, S.  that's tricky. Mom, why are they called C-shells when they start with S?" 

Me: "Cuz it's not the letter C, sometimes we call the ocean the sea"

Asher: "what? that's tricky too. Ocean.  I don't really like that word Ocean. We can just call it the beach."

Me: "ya, but the beach is the sandy part, the ocean is the water."

Asher: "We can just call it a lake."

Me: "but it's not a lake Asher, lakes don't have beaches and seashells" 

Asher: "Mom, don't worry about it.  We can just call it a Lake. It's ok, don't worry.  Ok?  Don't worry mom. We'll just call it a lake."

He was being so serious and so funny, I didn't argue.  I also didn't bother to explain to him that it's actually neither a lake or ocean, but rather, a gulf.

This leads me to another interesting discovery I had today.  This gulf that I've always called the Persian Gulf, is not the Persian Gulf according every map and sign I've looked at here in Dubai. It's called the Arabian Gulf. Apparently the other Arab nations that border this gulf feel the same way.  Why give any name recognition to Iran  when how many Arab nations border this gulf? Persia is outnumbered.

Don't worry though, we can just call it a lake.

*the cranes/ buildings you see out in the water are at work on one of the Palm Island developments.  This is the smallest of the 3 palms.  If you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, I'll try and write a future post about it or just check discovery channel to see if they are showing "Impossible Islands" anytime soon.