December: Naaya's Surprise Announcement!

Hey hey hey!

Welcome to our final blog entry on our one-year adventure in Dubai!  I get the honor of writing our final blog entry - make sure you read through to the end as I ALSO have the privilege of sharing a special announcement with all of you!

December was a really busy month between our final visitors, packing up our lives here, and enjoying the holidays before we head back to the US.  The month started with Mumma wrapping up her last days at work and tying up loose ends in Dubai as well as securing her next role at General Mills in Minneapolis.  She will be joining the Pillsbury desk and is looking forward to experiencing a very different division from those she has worked in to date.  Da-da also wrapped up his work in Dubai with final proposal work and a few sporadic trips to Saudi to help drive more business for BCG.  He was thrilled on his last trip to Saudi since though it has been an eye-opening experience, he is ready to not travel internationally on a weekly basis!


During the second week, Mumma's Kellogg friend, Aunty Yaso came to visit!  We had a great time with her! Mumma, Aunty Yaso, and I met for lunch at the Observatory in Dubai Marina where we all caught up after a long time!  Then, later in the week, Da-da, Mumma, and Aunty Yaso went to eat tapas at 101, one of their favorite spots in Dubai.  Overall we really enjoyed our time with her and look forward to seeing her again!

Later that week, we had Mota Mama, Moti Mami, and Kahan Mama come visit from India.  We had a great time with them as we went to dinner at Bussola, Sahil's favorite wood-fired pizza place in Dubai, shopped at the malls (where I also met Santa and cried the whole time, of course :)), ate meals overlooking the fountains, and just had quality time together.  We shared a wonderful few days together and look forward to future reunions with them in the US! :)

In the third weekend, Mumma decided to make a quick trip to India one last time to see Nana and Nani before we all headed back to the States.  Though she really wanted Da-da and I to join her, she also didn't want to risk me getting sick right before we take a long flight back to the US.  Plus, Da-da needed to wrap up a few things in Dubai.  She was very sad to leave me, but she was also really sad that she was going to say bye to Nana and Nani for a year before having the chance to visit them again in India.  She told me that unfortunately, this is all part of growing up and one day she would tell me more about how she was feeling now.  I understood, and gave her a hug and kiss while telling her I'd see her very soon.  I wanted to make sure she focused on Nana and Nani without feeling too sad she was away from me for the weekend. :)  As a result, she was able to really enjoy her time with them and will always be grateful that she went on this final trip to India.  She gave them lots of love from all of us and she brought back gifts from Nana and Nani for us for Christmas! I loved them!

In our final days over Christmas time, we celebrated with our own mini decorative corner of lights, bells, and wreaths, Da-da put on Christmas carols, and I opened some fun gifts on Christmas morning!  We also spent our holiday time saying goodbye to our friends and even saw Darpan Kaka, Jaya Kaki and Priyana Didi!  We also spent time selling our things here on Dubizzle (the craigslist of Dubai) and had some success there!  And finally we packed, shipped, and closed out our accounts all over Dubai to get our deposits back - what a process!  Even with all that planning, somehow Da-da's visa cancellation process got delayed and immigration held up his passport past our flight date! Hence, we have been hoteling it all weekend in Dubai, with all of us being sick no less, in anticipation of his passport so we can head back!  Fingers crossed, we finally get it today so we can head out tomorrow morning!

For a final reflection, we compiled a top 5 list of things we will miss most and least in Dubai:

We will miss...

• Great friends we have made in Dubai - keep in touch guys and we hope to see you soon!
• Myla, our live-in nanny, who not only took great of me during the day, but also did our laundry, ironing, cleaning, cooking, etc!
• Being a short flight away from Nani and Nani in India
• Fine dining at its finest with all the glitz and glamour Dubai life has to offer (for Mumma and Da-da, at least, while Myla babysat me at night as I slept)
• Perfect weather 9 months out of the year!

What we won't miss...

• Face-time in corporate culture in this part of the world - looking forward to driving our own schedules again :)
• Public holidays that are never set in advance due to dependency on the sighting of the moon
• The summer heat combined with Ramadan (where we can't eat/drink in public during daylight hours)
• Handing over our passport for every single process here in Dubai and never getting it back (hence still trying to make our way back :))
• Stereotyping to the max by race as a general habit across the culture

As we close out 2013 in Dubai, we wanted to share exciting news with you in anticipation of 2014...drumroll please...I am expecting a baby brother as of May 1st!  Yay!  Though I have my own special place in our family as Mumma and Da-da's first baby and will always hold that spot, this baby brother will also have a special place as the first grandson on both sides of the family!  Everyone is very excited as we grow from 3 to 4!  We wish you all the best in 2014 as well and look forward to hearing updates from all of you!

Lots of love from all 4 of us,
Naaya, Itty Bitty (as we call him), Mumma, and Da-da

November: Diwali in India and Thanksgiving in Dubai

Hi friends and family,

This is by far the most delayed post, but we wanted to capture November adventures before we head back to the US!  We started the month by celebrating Diwali in India.  None of us had ever been in Diwali for India so it was wonderful to partake in the festive celebrations with Mana's parents.  It was also fun to celebrate Mana's Mama's bday with him on Diwali! We even watched the fireworks happen all over India from an aerial view on the plane - it was magnificent!

When we returned to Dubai we had Sahil's cousin Naman and his wife Ashni come stay with a us for a few days as they explored the city.  Though our time together was limited, it was great to see them and we all had a great meal at Fuego as well (our favorite Mexican restaurant here)!  YUM! 

As the weather cooled down through the month of November, we started to plan our farewells with our friends and colleagues as we were only one month short of returning home!   Between brunch with Nic, Ingrid, Dana, and Mahmoud at Pantry cafe and Diwali parties at Kapil and Shweta's, our social calendar continued to keep us busy.

In addition to hanging out with our local friends, we also prepared for a big visit from Mana's childhood friend Shilpa and her husband Ripu!  We were very excited to see our close friends and show them our home in Dubai before we headed back!  We had a jam-packed week week filled with dinner at Reem al Bawadi in Dubai Marina (great Lebanese food), partying with Arif and Tina (friends that Ripu introduced us to when we moved here), a crazy night at ACT - the nightclub, sightseeing in Abu Dhabi, the malls, the Souks, and a lot of catch up time with our lifelong friends!  It was an amazing visit and we had a blast together! We miss you guys and can't wait to see you hopefully within the next year, Shilps and Rips!


We celebrated Thanksgiving in Dubai, though we must admit, it was a bit unconventional from our usual celebration.  In addition to very few Americans living in Dubai, Mana was sick with the flu, so we didn't exactly have a festive Turkey dinner.  That being said, it was still wonderful for the 3 of us to get time together and celebrate with Naaya!

We closed out the  month with Mana joining Sahil's BCG team to throw him a surprise farewell party at Spin Dubai, a nightclub where people play glow-in-the-dark ping pong.  The party also marked the end of Sahil's weekly trips to Saudi!  He was very surprised and it was a great end to a great year for him professionally!

Naaya's progress continues to be entertaining and exciting for us!  She dances pretty much every time she hears any music and has a clear talent when it comes to identifying songs from melodies.  We think she has inherited the Bhatt music genes for sure and as you would suspect, Mana is very excited to cultivate it further!  She understands almost everything we tell her and she has her own opinion on what she wants to eat, sing, or participate in.  She is not shy to tell you right away if you need to switch the song or dish to one she prefers!  We are LOVING every second with her and can hardly believe how quickly she is growing up! 

That's it for November, but make sure you check out our last blog entry in December as it's Naaya's final entry and her surprise announcement!

October: Celebrating Sahil's Birthday in the Seychelles

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all doing well!  We have been busy, busy, busy with life as we begin to think about wrapping things up while enjoying our final months here!  October is a special month for us because 1) Da-da's birthday falls in October, 2) Nani celebrated her milestone 65th birthday this month, and 3) Dada's birthday is this month!  While we remembered Nani and Dada on their birthday and celebrated them from afar, we took Da-da to Seychelles for his birthday!

Originally we were targeting Bali for our final big trip out here, but Mumma and Da-da realized that it would be a long, arduous journey with a toddler - I mean, I can't sit still for 12+ hours!  Instead, we decided to go to Seychelles, an island off of Africa only 4 hours south of Dubai.  It was a glorious decision!

We arrived in Mahe and spent our first two nights at the Le Meridien.  Raina Mashi and Parag Masha gifted us those two nights for Mumma and Da-da's birthday - thanks guys, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there!  We relaxed, unwinded, and enjoyed the sporadic rains as we overlooked gorgeous views.  After 2 nights on one side of the island, we took a ferry across to Praslin and whoah, did Mumma and Da-da experience sea sickness!  The ocean was really rough and we basically had a rollercoaster of an experience for an hour on the ferry.  I was the least affected from sea sickness among the 3 of us - my parents think I was a total trooper!

When we got to Praslin, we arrived at our resort, the Constance LeMuria.  That may have been the most magical place ever!! It was stunning and peaceful beyond belief, between Anse Georgette on the grounds (the most beautiful beach Mumma and Da-da have ever been to), 3 layer pools, and paradise at its finest.  If you visit the Seychelles, you MUST go to this resort and stay there!  We even saw a huge sea turtle lay eggs on the beach and proceed to bury them at this resort.  It was magnificent!

We also celebrated Da-da's birthday at Constance LeMuria.  Mumma and I planned a surprise birthday dinner for him and I was able to participate in the celebration as well (even though it was past my bedtime)! What a treat for all of us. :)

After a few days of absolute bliss at this resort, we headed back to Mahe for our last leg of our trip in the Constance Ephelia.  After LeMuria, we hoped for a similar experience and though it was a bit less personalized and service-oriented, it was a really fun close to our trip.  We enjoyed another side of Mahe, taking in the culture of Seychelles and got a taste of this magical African island and its kind people.

We came back all tanned and relaxed and Mumma and I got a few extra days together before she had to head back to work while Da-da went straight back.  I relished every moment with my parents and we laughed, giggled, and had a blast together over the course of this trip!


Over the rest of October, we began to enjoy the cooler weather (finally!) and met up with friends since it had been a while!  We had brunch at Jones the Grocer with Ingrid, Nick, Dana, and Mahmoud and Mumma and Da-da saw the BCG friend circle at Shweta Aunty and Kapil Uncle's Diwali party.

We also celebrated Halloween at home since there isn't a ton of good ol' American Halloween influence here and in my goldfish costume, I learned how to put the chocolate treats in my bag.  Granted, I was more into the act of placing it in my bag than eating any of them, but it was awesome nevertheless!!

In terms of work, Mumma and Da-da have been working away and Da-da's travel schedule continues to be really intense.  We are all a bit worn out from it, but the end is near! :)  Mumma has also had a really busy run over the last few months with Shweta Aunty returning back to work and Mumma wrapping things up to transition her work.  She is pushing for a strong close to her year over the coming weeks.

I have been growing and developing like crazy! My parents think I am super independent (so long as I'm within a 5 foot radius from them :) ) and I LOVE to walk EVERYWHERE!  The thing is, I don't like to walk by myself - I need Brownie (my talking puppy that Roshni Masi gave Nysa Didi and Raina Mashi in turn got for Mumma/Me on Rosh Masi's behalf) with me at all times.  Brownie and I are BFFs. :)  I continue to talk in my own language and copy everything my parents do! My favorite songs are "Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" and "If You're Happy And You Know it Clap Your Hands".  I can do all the hand and foot movements and I'm really good at it too (I'm not bragging, I'm just proud :) ).  I'll show you next time I see you, if I haven't grown out of this phase already!

That's about it on our end!  We hope you all had a Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends back home in advance!

September: Naaya Starts Walking

Hi family and friends,

Delayed as we've been, our September blog entry has arrived!  September was a busy month, but in many ways less so than the last 8.  After a whirlwind of a summer, we were local in Dubai for most of the month which great for us given we felt a definite need to slow down our pace of life here!

The month started out with one of Sahil's very close friends/colleagues from BCG, Libby, coming to visit us in Dubai.  It was so great to see her!  Though it was a quick few days, we were able to enjoy a few great meals with her and show her around our area in Dubai Marina.  We caught up on life, she shared stories from Minneapolis, and we shared elements of our expat life here over the course of the year.  All in all, it was so wonderful to catch up after so long!

The second week of September, we went to India for a quick trip to see Mana's family.  Though we didn't make it outside of Crystal building (where Mana's parents live) much, it was wonderful to get some time with the family during a very religious time of year in Bombay (Ganesh Chaturthi).  Naaya particularly enjoyed throwing her toys around the flat and making her presence known for the weekend as she played with Nana, Nani, Kahan Mama, Sanaa Didi (technically Masi but she prefers Didi :)), and Urmi Great-Nani!

The third weekend of September, we took being homebodies to a new level.  We were couch potatoes for most of the weekend and Sahil got Mana into a series called Suits.  Ever since, we've been whipping through episodes every chance we have gotten!  It was amazing to have a lazy weekend because the last week of September required Mana to go to Thailand for 6 days for a work conference, so it was great to rest up before an active and exhausting week with the AMEA (Asia, Middle East, and Africa) marketing region.  As usual, Mana was really sad to leave Naaya overnight, but Sahil stepped in as Super-Dad by staying in Dubai that week to make sure Naaya didn't miss a day of parental love!

In general, work has been really busy for both Mana and Sahil.  As we are getting closer to the year end, priorities and responsibilities have ramped up tremendously.  Though the work continues to be interesting for both of us, there are many challenges that continue to come along with fascinating emerging market work.

Naaya has had the most amazing development this month - she has started walking on her own! While she started the month holding our hands while walking, she now refuses to hold our hands and walks all the time non-stop!  Her personality also continues to develop!  We were at her friend Ishaa's 2nd birthday party last weekend and a 6 year old boy threw a ball which hit Naaya.  While we don't encourage bullying, we were proud parents to see Naaya charge full speed ahead at the boy and push him down to stand up for herself! There's always the possibility that she was just going to kiss him like she does other kids and couldn't stop herself in her path, hence running into him, but either way, we were excited to see her interact with other kids. :)  Her imagination has also grown as her favorite game over meals is to now pretend there is extra food in her chair which she'll pull out and give to us in anticipation of waiting for us to eat it in front of her.

That's about it for Sept!  We are off to the Seychelles, an island off of Africa, for our last big trip this year to celebrate Sahil's birthday (Bali got replaced with Seychelles when we realized it would be a 12+ hour journey with a toddler vs a 4 hour flight)!  Look forward to sharing more stories next month!

August: Ireland and the UK

Hi hi hi hi hi, friends and family!

Guess what? We have had one more month full of celebrations between our trip to Ireland and the UK for Aunty Lyds' wedding, my birthday party (FINALLY, as we were waiting for Ramadan to end), and Mumma's bday!  It's been yet another fun and action-packed month!  Can't wait to tell you all about it!

As the month started, we enjoyed our last few days with Dada, Dadi, and Chacha before we bid them farewell (only to see them one week later in the UK)!  As Eid al-Fitr holidays approached first week of August, we headed off for a quick, but fun trip to Ireland for 3 days!

Our first day we arrived at the Ritz in Powerscourt and soaked in the countryside.  The hotel was situated in the mountains, surrounded by endless greenery!  After 8 months in desert land (more than half of my life!), I was so excited to see something so different - green, lush, nature and fresh air! Mumma and Da-da carried me around the beautiful gardens and they even let me crawl and roll around in the dirt and touch grass for the first time in a long time!  It was so fun! Given the cooler temperatures, I also got to wear the few sweaters Mumma had packed for the first time since we moved to Dubai.  We then headed to the fountains and took in more nature.  It was the perfect kick off to our trip and tired me out by evening!  After I went to sleep, Mumma and Da-da took me in a stroller down to the pub in our hotel, where they had a traditional Irish meal experience coupled with a pint of Guinness, of course!

The next day we got ready
to hit up Dublin!  When we drove into the city, as expected, it was not even close to as beautiful as the surrounding areas of the country.  That being said, BOY was it fun!  We hit up the Guinness factory first thing in the morning and learned how Guinness is brewed.  It was interesting, fun, and best of all, even I got a teeny taste of it (since I'm teething :P).  Mumma especially had a blast at the Guinness factory since she got to drink more than her share given Da-da was driving!  Besides learning about the history of the famous Irish Beer Brand, Mumma loved tracking Diageo's advertising of Guinness over the last few decades, while Da-da loved taking a drinking trivia quiz and learning how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness!  We all loved the great view at the top of the factory of Dublin - it was a great way to take in the city all at once!

  After spending a LOT of time at the Guinness factory, we walked through Trinity College (which was beautiful!) and ended up having lunch in Temple Bar.  We grabbed more Pub food, headed over to the Jameson Factory where Mumma and Da-da tried some traditional Irish Coffee (which they claim is so much better than Irish coffee in the US), and followed that up by meeting our friend Renee at Brazenhead, an adorable pub near the river!

In the days preceding our trip, Mumma posted a "restaurant/sightseeing tips request" note on Facebook and we learned that our friend Renee (from Keith) would be in Dublin at the same time as us!  SO, we got to see her and have a little flavor of Minneapolis in Ireland! We had a great time catching up with her over grub and more beer (not for me!), hearing about life in Minneapolis and the latest in the world of the Dalziels as well as sharing some of our adventures over the last 8 months abroad!

Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel, got up bright and early to drive through Glendalough Valley in the Wicklow Mountains where we quickly explored the National Park, took in the Guinness Lake (which looks like a pint of beer), and made our way to the airport for part two of our trip - UK!  We had a blast in Ireland and I will look back at the photos of this trip (since I won't remember ANY of this :)) very fondly!

We arrived on Friday night in London and met up with Asha Masi for dinner in Paddington!  It was so great to meet the one who gifted Mumma during her baby shower, two of my favorite life-the-flap books Dear Zoo and Where's Spot!  I fell asleep while Mumma, Da-da, and Asha Masi caught up on life (since they had last met up in Spain during Mumma and Da-da's time in Paris 3 years back).  They had a great time and after hugs, kisses, and farewells, we headed to bed for an early train ride, where we would meet Aunty Hannah and Uncle Malick en route to Aunty Lyds wedding to Uncle Tut in Castle Cary, Somerset!



We arrived at the Santa-Olalla/Tuthill Wedding and I spent the afternoon with a great babysitter over a playdate with my new friend, George, while Mumma and Da-da attended Aunty Lyds' wedding and reception at a gorgeous venue.  From what I understand, they (along with Aunty Hannah and Uncle Malick) had a blast celebrating with the Santa-Olallas, Tuthills, and their many British and American friends and family!  The event was gorgeously set on lush green grounds in a venue that quite looked like a castle and Aunty Hannah and Mumma both wore fascinators in true form with the other British ladies!  It was so special to be there to watch Aunty Lyds marry the love of her life!  We especially like Uncle Tut because he and Aunty Lyds plan to move to America over the long run, so we'll get to see them more!  After a whirlwind of fun over 2 days, we headed back to London where Mumma and Aunty Hannah got special time on the train together before we all parted ways.

We spent the evening meeting up with Dada, Dadi, Chacha, and JK Dadi, Jaya Dadi, and Family in London for dinner to celebrate Jaya Dadi's 70th birthday.  I had a blast eating, eating, and eating, while everyone else caught up with one another.  It was great to see everyone and all-in-all we had a great, quick trip!

After a busy first few weeks, we finally got settled back in Dubai and relaxed the following weekend at home.  Mumma and Da-da went to visit Shweta Aunty and Vinit Uncle, who just had a beautiful baby boy, Vihaan, followed by date night at Hakkasan, a very yummy Asian restaurant in Downtown Dubai.  They then went to Da-da's friend Dominik's birthday party at Jetty Lounge.  The next day, we all spent time together and planned my birthday party for the third week in August!

My birthday party was a blast!  We celebrated at Favorite Things in Dubai Marina, and between a puppet show, parachute games, a dance-off, finger painting, and cake eating, it was a FUN party!  Granted I cried about 5 times over the two hour party, but hey, that was a lot of action and attention over a short period time, what do you expect? I smiled when everyone sang Happy Birthday so I feel like I succeeded!  Mumma and Da-da were very proud of me for lasting through my party!

We had a great time celebrating with all of our friends in Dubai and I especially had fun being around other cool kids!  Thanks for making my 1st birthday party so fun, Dubai Friends!

Over the last weekend in August, we had a great time by going to brunch with Tina Aunty, Arif Uncle, and Ishaa at Rajdhani (a Gujarati Thaali restaurant which was super yummy).  Then, Mumma and Da-da went to Thipthara for dinner with Catherine, a friend of Mumma's from General Mills, and her husband Brad, who came through Dubai on their 10 week sabbatical.  They had a great time overlooking the fountain show while eating Thai food and sharing their international experiences with one another (as Catherine was working for Latin America on a 3 year assignment which just ended).

And finally, we celebrated Mumma's bday on Aug 31st!  We celebrated by shopping for me (Mumma said she just wanted to buy me stuff for her birthday - I was okay with that :)) and Mumma and Da-da had a VIP movie date in the evening since they couldn't eat any more heavy meals that weekend!  It was totally low-key, but Mumma said she had a perfect birthday with us and with all the love from her friends and family through phone calls, emails, facebook, etc!  Thanks to all our friends and family for making her feel so special!

On a work front for Mumma and Da-da, things slowed down during Ramadan (since work hours were 9am to 3pm), but then picked right up by the end of August.  Da-da continues to travel 4 days a week to Saudi and now even 5 days a week once a month.  It's getting harder to see him go every week given it's been 4 months since the start of this project, but Mumma and I look forward to December when his project in Saudi will end.  In the meantime, we look forward to capitalizing on his hotel points and miles for our big trip to Bali for his birthday in October!  Plus, he continues to get rich learning soaking in Saudi culture, tradition, norms, and business practice in the public sector.

Mumma has also been busy with work given her role changed and she took on Betty Crocker, which is the largest Betty business internationally.  She is now focusing on launching the business in Egypt (during a time of political unrest), and driving the media strategy as well as overall plan to set it up for success in her final months at GMI MENAT.  This month, she had a busy week recently with the iSquad team in the US who was in town with the AMEA regional team as they collectively developed an opportunity map to identify areas of innovation in sweet treats for MENAT based out of Saudi and Egyptian consumer learnings.  There's no doubt about it - Mumma is going to miss the emerging market aspect of her work.  That being said, though, she is very excited about returning home!

As far as me, where do I begin?? I am cruising and walking while holding one hand of Mumma or Da-da.  I stood on my own for the first time on Mumma's birthday! I love to make faces and especially love making the "A$$hole" face from Meet the Fockers.  Don't ask me where I learned that, 'cuz I have no idea (I swear, my parents don't curse in front of me and didn't teach me that, I just started doing it on my own)!!  I am more mobile than ever and it's hard to keep me in one place for long!  Oh, and of course, I had no teeth last month, and now I have 3! Hooray for teeth!  I am growing up fast, fast, fast!!

That's about it for August!  It was BUSY!  Hope you all are doing great and we look forward to connecting with you all in our September entry!