Love is my religion

On Friday Chris, Christos, Marc and I literally crossed the street for an outdoor concert and saw Ziggy Marley and Kayne West perform. It was amazing! I am in love again with reggae music! I also have a new respect and appreciation for Kanye West, I like a couple songs before but he is truly remarkable. His energy was contagious. It was really amazing how organized, clean and mellow the festival was. It was also great to see so many families out and about, we saw an African family dancing with a baby that must have only been a few weeks old at 11pm to Kayne West. I love living someplace where all ages go to the same places and there is something for everyone. They had play areas for toddlers and teenagers there. The other fun part was seeing all the teenagers of Dubai out and about in their trendy clothes. There was of course letters to the editor the next day complaining about parents letting their tweens prance around in skimpy clothing in public in a Muslim country. I have to admit I do remember some ridiculous outfits of my middle school days but clothes have gotten rather risque for young girls lately but things always look shocking when you are in a more modest society. I clearly recall Liz and I wearing matching off the shoulder ruffled white midriff tops to a carnival once and her parents just laughing at us- I can't imagine not realizing we looked stupid but I guess that is youth for you.

Chris is of course gone again and I am hoping to get a lot done this week but I am still waiting on my visa which rules out anything that involves a passport. I would like to make decisions about painting the apartment, a dining room table and buy some of the smaller appliances we need right away (like an iron) but I want to run by the bigger decisions by him so I will wait until he comes back. I am waiting on the smaller appliances until I have a big block of time because you never know how long it will take but today I have to help a student again so I don't want to be late. Anyway, I am also waiting on a phone call to let me know when I am tutoring a famous singer here. Again, another connection through our real estate agent. I am about to have lunch with Hanne; half of a couple Chris and I met over the weekend. Her husband is from Chile and she is from Finland. They have lived quite a few places around the world and her husband works with Chris. They are the first couple we have met and they are going to live near us too. This weekend we are also going out on the Palm to meet a friend of my brother's for a drink. Chris and I met her sister over the summer so we finally get to meet her on Thursday. We were also invited there for Thanksgiving which is great because we still won't have our stuff by then so that rules out me cooking a T-day feast! I still wish I could be home at Uncle Bruce's for Thanksgiving. I love traveling and living abroad but Thanksgiving is the one day I only want to be in the US for, it is just not the same anywhere else. We did have some nice ones in Ghana though so I am sure this one will also be memorable!

I got to talk to Lauren, Pattie and Bob last night which was so nice- they are all coming here for Christmas so we are so lucky!

Well, I think that is about all that is new. I read some posts last night about some labor disputes going on in other parts of the city and it just makes me so sad that there doesn't seem to be anything going on or any international pressure to raise wages or improve conditions. I found a website that collects care packages for workers here in the camps but there has to be more that can be done?

At Juan Salon. My friend Anisah took me to her salon last week for some pampering.

weekend begins

It is Thursday morning and I am waiting for yet another phone call for our last delivery...our stove (for now)! I am also waiting for Christo's stove and washer/dryer instillation. Christo's one bedroom apt only has a hookup for a washer or a dishwasher. After some serious consultations he decided the chances of a laundry emergency were far greater than a dishes emergency since he will travel all the time and probably not cook. I waited at his apartment earlier this week and took a nap on some ikea chair cushions waiting for his appliances and a new scenario happened. The people showed up to install the washer but they couldn't find it, they were searching all the closets and cupboards and I didn't know what they were looking for, I thought they were looking for the hook up but turns out the washer had not been delivered yet so we were back at square one. I am hoping after today we are all done with delivery bloopers for a while. Chris got home last night and we went out to a complex of restaurants right on the beach for Italian food. I wish it was possible to just go out for a casual bite to eat but all the places are fancy. The prices aren't too bad as compared to upscale restaurants at home but already I am missing dive bars and Mexican restaurants. Soon I will be able to cook and going out will be back to occasional and then we will want a treat so it's all good. I have two more students needing help so I have a busy Saturday and Sunday ahead of me. Both students need help with essay writing. One is a girl and I will go to her house (which will surely be a palace) and the other is a male student from Abu Dhabi so first I have to meet him in public with a chaperone. I am so excited to be able to do this because otherwise I would never have a conversation with an Emirate man. It is definitely a cool way to learn about the culture here and since the Emirate population is about 20% of UAE it is understandable why you don't meet that many. I have got to motor because I have to get some passport pictures done as well this morning for my visa. Chris and I were very excited to see the score of the baseball game this morning-looking good!

Bridge to bridge

This morning I rode a short distance over the bridge to Palm Jumeriah for my first bridge lesson. Our guy friends are very mad at me because they say I will never meet any cute single women for them at bridge games. I have always wanted to learn how to play bridge and someone invited me to join a beginners group so I figured why not? I may not always have such a free schedule and until we are in an apartment and I have a visa I can't look for a job so I am going to make the most of it. After playing bridge (I know some people are probably still laughing) I had to head over to our new apartment for more delivery mayhem. This time I had a book. I am so excited... Chris comes back tomorrow but this time he is only here until Saturday morning so I want to have a great weekend planned before he gets home. We already bought tickets to see Kayne West (from the west side of Chicago near where I used to teach) and Ziggy Marley at a desert music festival. It should be fun. Tomorrow morning I am going to a warehouse to bargain for a dining room table. We never had one in Chicago and we definitely need one in our new apartment so I am hoping I have luck.

Bur Dubai

Bur Dubai is an older part of the city on the creek. It has cheaper rents and the hustle and bustle reminded me of parts of New York or London. We had dinner there over the weekend and then walked around...which is a rare treat in Dubai! There were actual sidewalks since this part of Dubai is much older and not under constant construction. We wandered around the souks admiring the beautiful saris, the aromatic street food and the plethora of vendors selling gold, electronics, fake purses and all kinds of things no one really needs. There weren't prices on anything, it was dirty, grungy, loud, bright, gaudy and we loved it- it was a nice change from the brand new construction zone we have been living in! We went here on Friday night so that Chris could have a fun night out and explore more of Dubai. Since he is gone during the week he doesn't get to explore as much as I do. On Saturday we both spent the day running in opposite directions trying to get things done before he left again. He went to get a new phone and get the liquor license and I spent yet another day waiting for a delivery. I only got to run back to the hotel and say goodbye to him before he left again. This week he will be back on Wednesday so it is better than last week. Last night I finally got skype hooked up and it has been so nice to catch up with people and hear their voices. I was very excited to hear about the Red Sox and their big win last night. I just hope they can do the same tonight! I wish I could watch it but I would have to stay up all night and just watch updates on the computer, there isn't any station that plays it. Today I met a woman (Becky)who also just moved here from Chicago and had a great day visiting and showing her our apartment while waiting for yet another delievery. Becky and I also had a terrifying taxi experience today, I won't write about it because I know everyone will just worry but it was a good lesson in how much you have to pay attention, even if you are not driving! I have two days off from waiting for any deliveries which will be nice. I am off to work out now and then have dinner with Chris's coworker, Christos who also still lives in the hotel.

Chris looking important at the Buddha Bar.

The Buddha Bar

This is a shot from inside the Buddha Bar, a really swanky bar near our hotel. We weren't able to get in at first because it was myself, Chris, Christos and Marc. The ratio was too man heavy. Instead we headed up to the top of the hotel and had a drink there. Because the bar on top was so high up (at least 30, maybe 40 floors up) and the decor was like Austin Power's private jet it felt like we were on a plane. After we left there we managed to talk our way into the Buddha Bar which was ambient but I am not sure what the big competition to get in there was...

Keys to apartment

This is our new kitchen- before appliances. We finally got a key and I can visit the empty rooms whenever I want! The rest of the pictures are too boring and empty to show you but soon they will be exciting! I am so happy about our kitchen because it has a door so I can shut it if I don't want to clean up straight away. After a couple of apartments with an open, studio floor plan where the kitchen is your apartment I am happy to have it as a separate area. It does have an open bar area though so I won't be all isolated in it either. Most people know my love of cooking and understand while I dedicated a whole blog post to it. I haven't cooked in two months...I am afraid I might get too used to it!

20 things I've learned today

1)That the man in this picture (Sheikh Mohammed for short) has an elaborate website http://www.sheikhmohammed.co.ae/ and that besides being the ruler of Dubai, the Prime Minister and VP of UAE he is also a poet. Check it out. I am embarassed to say I am not 100% sure who the guy on the right is. I will find out.

2) There is a bus system in Dubai. It is cheap but follows no schedule, route, set price or logic that I can figure out yet. There are separate seats for women and men.

3) Five minutes might mean 7 hours for a delivery time.

4) An empty tub is not a horrible place to spend those seven hours reading British tabloids.

5) British tabloids are not that exciting when you don't know who anyone is or why they are famous.

6) David Beckham has a squeaky child like voice according to my friend Emma who works in fashion and met him once.

7) English people are embarrassed of Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice (also according to Emma), really embarassed

8) The security people at our new building are very, very nice and helpful and it is truly sad how little money they get paid and heartbreaking that many of them go two years without seeing their families.

9) There is a full time lifeguard at our pool from 6am-10pm. He smokes and drinks redbull next to his post.

10) There is a sign of rules posted next to him. I saw every person breaking every single rule on the sign.

11) It is really safe here and I am glad we ended up in this city instead of Johannesburg. My new friend from SA had her old, beat up car stolen while she was getting her haircut there.

12) Taxi drivers often don't know where they are going and take you really far out of your way. I am actually learning my way around and can direct them now. It is time for me to get a car!

13) Our building is a mile (and three stoplights) from the closest u-turn so we will always have to drive a a mile in the wrong direction to leave...funny!

14) The beach looks beautiful from our new bedroom. When I wasn't busy laying in an empty tub today I watched people water ski and para sail.

15) You can see part of Palm Jumeriah from our bedroom.

16) Palm Jumeriah is creating artificial reefs along the shore that will make sea life very exciting.

17)I was told they are filming a commerical, movie or a concert outside our hotel tonight and it is full of film crew people and spotlights...very glamorous.

18) People work a lot here. I just saw a man typing emails, talking on the phone and riding the stationary bike in the gym.

19) People do other strange things at the gym. I saw a girl sitting on her boyfriend/husbands lap while he was lifting weights yesterday.

20) Our landlord is from Jordan. He paid 660,000 dh for our apartment (approx 183,000 dollars for a beach front 3 bedroom apartment) and we just gave him a check yesterday for 150,000 dh for a year's rent.

I don't know

A lot of people have been asking why goods are in such short supply...the answer is I have no clue. My first answer was that they just can't keep up with the masses of people that keep moving here. Then I found out it was even worse a few months ago-some people waited 3 months for appliances so who knows? It could be worse. We were lucky to get all of our necessities right away, of course we didn't wait around for the bargains.

Today I was planning on working on that liquor license and my visa. Neither got done since the person who does the visas is out this week (reminds me of Ghana) and before I could get out to the mall (where of course a liquor license can be obtained) a friend invited me to lunch and I couldn't say no. We went to a super fancy hotel that has touristy souks (Arabian markets) and nice restaurants. It was the company that was the best part. This friend is someone I met briefly at a coffee morning and she lives across from JBR (where we are moving to- Jumeriah beach residences). Our friend Christos thinks we should start a reality show about it since masses of people are moving there now and there are some glitches with the design of the buildings (no one is sure where the gyms are going...or how to fit the appliances into the too small spaces) Anyway, my lunch companion showed me the bus system in Dubai which I didn't even know existed and enthralled me with her life story. She was born in SE Asia to parents from Saudi Arabia and she escaped an arranged marriage at the age of 16 because she felt that she was still a child and that the traditional life was not for her. As a consequence she has not seen her parents for 40 years but she is going back soon to see them. In the same conversation she also had a lot of positive things to say about the traditional dress here (dishdash for men and abaya for women). She thinks they are beautiful, exotic and that modesty is a seriously underrated virtue. But she wears whatever she wants. Everyday is another persons perspective and it is always interesting. Tonight I went to the gym and for the first time I didn't cover up on the way there, everyone tells me it is fine to wear whatever you want if you are western but most of the time I cover my shoulders and knees. It was especially respectful during Ramadan. So tonight, wouldn't you know it my key didn't work when I got back from the gym and I was forced to go to the front desk in the main lobby in my skimpy workout gear. I waited a while for the elevator to come and when it opened it was my worst nightmare, I am in skimpy clothes and it is a husband and wife in a dishdash, abaya and sheyla (headscarf). The wife's abaya was of the latest fashion here. I like to call it bedazzled. It had pink swarovski crystals embroidered on the sleeves and hemlines. They are beautiful in a sparkly kind of way. Back to the elevator... you know it is OK for them to be in their clothes and you to be in yours but you can't help feeling a little under dressed for the occasion...so I found myself apologising and explaining my situation. They couldn't have been any nicer or understanding. Turns out they lived in America for university and were so warm and conversational about the US. After the key fiasco I returned to my room, got ready for dinner and enjoyed an outdoor Lebanese feast with 3 new girlfriends from England, America and Canada. Another day in Dubai....

Ended my day in Twi

Tonight I joined Christos and Marc downstairs while they ate Italian food and saw our friend Micheal, the Nigerian man raised in Ghana. He is the head of security here at the hotel and every time he sees me he tests my Twi (the language Chris and I spoke in Ghana). I think he is still shocked every time I say something back. It has been a long time so my Twi is reduced to pathetic pleasantries but it still feels nice. I should just go to bed now but I can't stop thinking about our shipping container from the US. We found out that it still hasn't left the US even though we had an arrival date for tomorrow here in Dubai! Customs blessed us with their "special" search and now it will be at least a month before we see our things. I hadn't really stopped to think about some of the logistics involved with the shipping container until this week. I already have towels, flatware, dishes, pots and pans etc... I don't want to buy more but can't really live without cooking in our apartment for that long...or showering for that matter. Anyway, we will figure it out. Today my friend Bea took me to Al Karama, a market in an older part of Dubai (like 10 years old maybe?) . This is where all the knock offs can be found. I did not buy any purses but was tempted by the craftsmanship...I did buy some new colors of Pashminas- they are only 3 dollars here and so very useful with all the AC. After shopping I went to Bea's for dinner. It was nice to have something outside or a restaurant for a change!
Chris and I got invited to watch the Rugby world cup with some English friends that I met so I am impressed that I am working the sports network for him. Unfortunately, Chris won't be here for the match since he will be flying out again on Saturday. Tomorrow I need to work on my visa, find the form for an alcohol license so that we may keep alcohol in our home and hopefully also get the keys to our apartment. I am so excited to have an apartment but I was hoping to have some furniture/comforts of home a bit sooner. Oh well. Sorry no pictures today, I was lazy. I have some old ones but the computer is slow tonight so it will have to wait.

The beach

This past weekend was the end of Ramadan and there was a festive mood all around. We did not witness any special, cultural celebrations but we did notice a more relaxed feeling. We also noticed that places were more crowded since a lot of people had time off from work. We went to the beach on Saturday before Chris left for the week and it was glorious. We decided not to pay to go to a hotel or even a beach park and it was a great decision! The beach was wonderful, fine white sand, warm waves. The water is really salty here which sounds silly but it's true. Other than the beach our whole EID was spent getting things we need for the apartment. For other interesting pictures of EID throughout the world check out this link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7041752.stm

Dubai Marina

This is a view of the Dubai Marina where we eat out a lot and where we will keep our yacht (kidding). This area is very close to where we will be living and it looks like we might be able to walk there in the future but for now it is a 1 min cab ride away.

My favorite time of day

Everywhere I have been I have always loved this time of day, just before the sun sets. It is nothing short of miraculous here as well. This is the view from the 8th floor (roof) of our our hotel. There is a fantastic mosaic pool up there as well and now that Ramadan is over there is a bar as well which makes the place pretty fantastic.

adventures in appliances

We just found out Chris is leaving on another work trip tomorrow (right in the middle of this holiday) for all of next week and we need to get our apartment ready for living so we are now in hyper efficient mode except that is not really possible! Appliances are nearly sold out everywhere so we got really lucky last night and found most everything we need so we bought it on the spot but we need to try to find a fridge today. Our poor friend Marc needs smaller sizes of all appliances so his plight has been much worse than ours. Last night we were all weary after hours at the mall searching for appliances and excited to head to the Sheraton beach Iftar for the last night of a Ramadan Iftar feast. I didn't think I could walk anymore without food but we couldn't find the car at the mall, that is how big they are. We ended up having to split up and search separately and I started to wonder if they had a search and rescue committee for the mall parking lots, what would we do if we couldn't find it? Obviously we did find the car that Marc rented and we set off for our dinner which was of course wonderful. An Iftar buffet has every dish you can imagine: hummus, fatuoush, bean salads, vegetable salads, lentil soup, corn soup, meat salads, many breads, hot Indian dishes, lamb and chicken shawarma, pasta dishes, shrimp and seafood stews, fruits, juices and desserts. After stuffing ourselves we sat on the beach for some shiha and made strategic plans for our shopping needs today. Chris and I figured out we need a new bedroom set for our room because our bed won't be here for a while and we need a set up without nightstands for our bedroom. The problem is that the mattresses are sold out a lot of places and what good is a frame without a mattress? We think Ramadan is over and we should be able to eat in public today so I think that freedom alone will make today easier. Wish us luck!

Working already

The American University in Sharjah during a dust storm today. Unexpectedly, I ended up traveling to another Emirate today, tutoring an Emirate college student trying to help her with her presentation on the duality of the enlightenment and it's effects on architecture. I was up pretty late last night brushing up on that topic! It was a great connection for future jobs so I didn't want to turn it down but hopefully next time I will have more notice (and a topic I am more knowledgeable of ).

So I will not talk about the weather ever again on this thing. On Monday I wrote that the weather was quite nice because it was not humid at all. In fact I was wondering when this so called humid weather would start. Well, Tuesday it did. It was as if you were taking a shower when you stepped outside. People with glasses were complaining that they were foggy all day. I think my contacts got foggy at one point. Of course it was the day I did laundry and had to hang it outside so it was all still sort of wet and probably still is. Then on Wednesday we had a dust storm which would have been even worse for the laundry. I speculated that they might be exotic and interesting. It was quite beautiful to watch the palm trees sway in the wind and have the landscape a bit blurred. The light was unique because desert sun doesn't get filtered through much so it is harsh and without shadows. This changed it...but it also blew sand in your face. Yesterday after my morning of work I relaxed until Chris got home. A driver was sent for me yesterday from Sharjah at 7:30 am to help this student with her 12:30 presentation and then I was driven back to Dubai. I got back here around 2:30 and looked online for some used appliances for the apartment. The problem is that no one posts pictures or dimensions or how old it is so we decided to just buy them new because the price difference is so small between used and new. I got a little excited thinking I could actually pick out what I wanted but we went shopping with Marc last night for his and to do price comparisons for things we want and realized it is not going to be easy. First of all we need electric appliances (apt rule) and there are very few electric stoves in this country. Then if something looks nice, is a good brand and is a good price every store is sold out until November. I thought that when I would be able to buy these kinds of things I could go to one store, pick them out and have them delivered. Obviously that was a daydream. Today I will got look at a couple other stores and see what is available and hopefully start ordering. I found out yesterday that Chris has a work meeting next month on the Red Sea in Egypt and I get to go! I am so excited. We are close to so many destinations, I can't wait to start taking some weekend trips once we are settled. The paperwork went through yesterday with our apartment so hopefully we will be able to move in sometime around the 20th. Our things are still on their way by sea but we hope they will get here soon

Another day...another mall

This is a man made scene of traditional Bedouin (desert dweller) culture. The figures and camels actually move and guess where I saw it? At the mall of course. My friend B took me to the Ikea at yet another mall to get a catalogue so I can later order a few pieces from there if I choose too. She also wanted to see if they had any of their wonderful, frozen imported Swedish meatballs in yet but they are still sold out. Everything at Ikea is also on back order for at least a month so I am glad we have the staples coming from the US. I also found out there are some wonderful furniture makers who can copy from the US furniture catalogues so that might be fun as well. I don't plan on furnishing from only one store but Ikea is certainly easy. It is possible to find amazing Turkish style rugs and lots of other unique things at great prices but it is in a whole other part of town from the malls! Once we get a car that will be fun to explore.

I just realized today that some people have been leaving comments for me on the blog and I didn't know it so sorry I haven't responded. The notes from family about the fall are very much appreciated. Keep them coming... So are the baseball reports. We are following it but you forget about it sometimes because it isn't big news here. I was very excited to hear about the Yankee's misfortune last night!

Last night I had dinner with some new friends, some from England and some from the US. It is nice to meet people here who are not as new as me and know a lot of answers to my questions. Chris got home early from Saudi last night and has been busy working on his new project and getting our apartment paperwork settled. He loves what he is doing and the people he is working with so we are very happy! I am hoping he will get home before dusk because there is an amazing pool on the roof of this hotel that has waterfalls over it and an amazing view of the city. I only discovered it yesterday!

Thanks for reading. The blog is motivating me to write everything done each day which will help me remember everything.

We have a home!

The windows will be cleaned before we move in but this is the view from our new bedroom! We won't be able to move in for a bit since our things aren't due to arrive until the end of next week (at the earliest) from the States and I need to buy all the appliances but we have a home! The best part about our new apartment is it is on the beach! It is also a new building and the grounds are not finished yet so the prices are still low compared to other parts of Dubai so we were able to get a three bedroom which feels like a palace after all the one bedrooms in our past. So please, come visit!

The weather

A word on the weather, a subject I have neglected entirely despite various inquiries. It is sunny and hot everyday. The sun sets around 6:30ish and then it is considerably cooler. It is really nice to sit outside at night, especially on a rooftop. So far I think it is a very dry heat and it is not unbearable. Would I run in it? No. Unfortunately you can not walk anywhere here- the roads were built around the businesses quickly and not made with walkers in mind. There is round about or rotary every half mile....at least. So I am outside very little BUT by the end of the month the weather will drop to very comfortable temperatures in the 70s and 80s and you can actually do things outside for most of the year. So, as I suspected it is a lot like Arizona. If I did not have AC my position on this matter might be less optimistic and I would be sweaty, red and feel like I was in Peace Corps again. I have heard that also with the cooler weather comes some rain which floods everything since it is so dry and flat. I have also heard that there are dust storms from time to time which sound very exotic and exciting but are probably not pleasant at all. I just changed my weather profile from Chicago to Dubai and was surprised that it is still quite hot there. I probably shouldn't have actually looked at a weather report. It looks like it will be around 100-102 degrees this week with a full, shining sun everyday. The sunshine is nice though! Last night I saw Chris off to the airport and then had Thai food with one of his colleagues. Chris doesn't love Thai food so I always get it when he is out of town. Afterwards we checked out his apartment on the beach and then headed back to our hotel for some lemon shiha (another new flavor) and then I went to bed exhausted after another day of apartment hunting. The good news is that I think we found something, Chris is coming home early tonight and I think he will be able to see it with me and we can make a sound decision. The bad news...someone might take it by then! Nothing much else to say. I am waiting for someone to come and pick up our laundry, waiting for a real estate agent to call me back waiting, waiting, waiting...I hope to have some pictures up but as of now I am always alone or it is just Chris and I and that is a bit boring for pictures. I haven't had much time to go sightseeing but I have a long list of things to do once all of this searching is over. Another great thing is I met someone who is moving out of country from a three bedroom and wants to sell all of their things so I might score a lot of barely used appliances. This same person was also a private art history tutor for university students here and is going to connect me with the right people. Apparently Emirate students will come to our apartment (once we have one) and pay me good money to help them write essays. Sounds good to me. I also met someone who works in movies and commercials here who said they are always looking for help with logistics, extras etc. so that might be fun as well! But first the apartment....

The epic housing search

I guess we have only been here a week but I was hoping to have a home sorted out before Chris left tonight for Saudi. He will be gone for a few days and when he gets back it will be Eid - the official end of Ramadan so everything will shut down for a few days. It stands for Eid-Al-Fitr and it is a three-day celebration. We had a low key weekend. Today is Sunday and things are back to work around here. It will take a while to get used to Sunday being Monday. This weekend we checked out a couple more roof top bars, watched the Rugby World Cup, looked at apartments and villas,relaxed and caught up on sleep. Yesterday we rushed back to the hotel after apt viewings to grab the lunch buffet because we were so hungry since you can't eat in public or find anything to eat for that matter. We bumped into my dutch friend, B and her husband in the lobby. They were also having lunch at our hotel. Hotels are really the only places to eat during the day. We joined them and get this for a small world- B's husband was also a candidate for the job Chris interviewed for in Mustique (the tiny island). Pretty crazy that there were about 20 people in the world involved in that job search and I had lunch with two of them. Anyway, we had our hearts set on this amazing apartment that I can't even talk about because I don't think we are taking it. We were all set to sign and the landlord changed his mind on the price! I am waiting for another estate agent to call me back and take me to some more places but I am already sick of looking! I am going to run a couple of errands and get Chris ready for his trip. The estate agent just called and said no for more viewings today so now I have to start calling again. This is so much fun! Also on my list of fun things to do today is find a great brunch reservation for the start of Eid- they are meant to be the most amazing meals! Even the Iftar meals that we have been to that break the fast each day of Ramadan are breathtaking. The one we went to was the size of a huge banquet hall and each wall was filled with beautiful arrangements of food from salads, to lentil soups, meats, breads, cheeses, fruits, sauces etc. I can't even imagine what the "special" one will be like! I only wish I could eat as much as I want to at these events.

Not making decisions today

Have seen many more apartments but haven't made any decisions yet! Last night, Thursday night, was the official start of the weekend here, kind of feels like college again. Chris and I had to go to the mall again after we went out with an estate agent to look at villas. The villas we saw were clearly on the low end of things, some doors were even broken and there was trash everywhere. It was depressing and freaky, the roads all looked the same like the Truman show. It seemed like you would have to leave bread crumbs on your way to work so that you could find your way home. The only good thing about them was they had backyards so they would be perfect for a dog. Anyway the estate agents dropped us off at a City Centre in the older section of Dubai. It seemed like more local mall with more residents and less tourists. Chris needed a cell phone so we got that and since fast had broken we grabbed some food and headed back to the hotel. Since it is the weekend the rooftop bar was open so we headed up there for some shiha (hookah) overlooking the skyline of Dubai. Normally they have live music and a bar but because of Ramadan they don't. They make wonderful non-alcoholic drinks there but we just had apricot shiha. We are working our way through the fruits. While we were there we met the head of security for the hotel, a man from Nigeria who was born and schooled in Ghana. We got to speak a bit of Twi and reminisce about Ghana. He told us Dubai is nice too because it is peaceful and easy but better for making money. From the rooftop we headed over to the Meridian hotel which has a wonderful tiki style bar on the beach. It was crowded with tourists and expats. We fought the crowds and headed down to the beach huts and relaxed. It was great, it was actually my first time on the sand of the beach because we have been so busy. I did see a rat on the beach though, some of you know how terrified I am of rodents but the couple of drinks helped to numb my fear. Then we met up with a friend of Chris's from work. He is from Montreal and started one week earlier than Chris. We have been having fun hanging out with him and some people he knows through friends, school etc. The crowd was pretty wild for what we have seen in Dubai. I left Chris to go to the bathroom for a minute and an Australian girl grabbed his butt as an ancient mating ritual I guess! I will have to keep a closer eye on him...We then walked home, an almost impossible task with the construction, highways, median and lack of sidewalks but we were determined. We didn't get home until almost three and we slept until noon today- we desperately needed the sleep. Now we are off to lunch and then....the mall of course. Chris needs a small carry on for his suits because he leaves for Saudi on Sunday for work. We are just hoping to make a housing decision tomorrow so that it won't drag out past his trip. So summary of life so far: if you need anything you have to go to a mall, there are no small shops and if you need a drink you have to go to a hotel!

You don't have a house yet?

You don't have a car yet? You didn't get your license yet? These are the questions we are asked on average once an hour. I am not sure if that is like a cultural "how are you" or the British "you alright"? We don't have any of these things because we got here 4 days ago and we don't even have a visa yet, something you need to do any of these things so just trying to be cool about it all, in due time we will have all of these things! Our estate agent just canceled our appointments today so now I am phoning many more and trying to get to see as many apartments and villas as possible. It is difficult because just last night we found out Chris will be traveling a lot so now it is less important to be close to his office and more important that I can have a dog and a community...a lot to think of but it will all work out. I have made a few friends or whatever you call people you have known for one or two days! A Dutch woman, B chatted to me in the hotel and took me in her car to show me around the city a bit and see what her villa was like. It was very nice but the community seemed isolated. Yesterday I went to an expat women's coffee thing and met some very nice women, mostly older, non-working women but one girl my age from London and she has been helpful. It is a young city but I just haven't found any couples like us yet but then again it has only been 4 days! Things are moving slow in some areas of life because of Ramadan and it can be difficult to forage for food during the day. Chris is so lucky because he gets fed at work! I am off to the mall again right now because they sold me a SIM card for my cell phone with someone else's stuff on it so now I have to start over I think. I never thought I would spend so much time at malls but that is where everything is! We are hoping to look at some apartments on the beach today but they may not allow dogs so that is a downside....the upside obviously being the beach...until later!