The blog is moving west

I leave for the US today! I am so excited and a bit nervous for that super long plane ride. I have to wear support hose per the doctors orders- Chris is having fun making fun of them, they are thigh highs but a medical supply store version of sexy stockings. It feels so strange to be going home after so long- I haven't stayed out of the US this long since peace corps days and I have never returned home in a whole new physical state of being- it is just too exciting, like a movie, girl returns home...pregnant. The only thing more exciting will be when we bring our new baby home next Christmas. I can't think of any more Dubai based updates, it has been hot here again, the past couple of days have been real scorchers. I had to go to the market to get pashminas for Lauren's bridesmaids and I really thought I might die it was so hot. It takes me about 30 minutes to cool down again once I get back in the car- definitely a pregnant thing, I always used to be on the cold side...not anymore. I have been meeting lots of new pregnant friends in my area, I go to a weekly coffee gathering with them. Some have started having their babies already which is so exciting. I am so glad our little boy will have so many friends around! Work has been really fascinating the last few weeks, I have learned a lot. I have gotten to research endangered species in the area, the cultures of gulf weddings, green architecture and peak oil theory. I love it when I get to do stuff like that as opposed to silly personal assistant type errands but really it has been a great and flexible job. Chris has been busy, as usual. I am really looking forward to seeing him in vacation mode soon when he joins me at home! I highly suggest checking out this you tube link- I had to research it for work. Queen Rania of Jordan has started a channel on you tube to create a dialogue between people of different of cultures but mainly to break down the stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims. It is really cool.
http://www.youtube.com/user/QueenRania
There are 7 videos on the channel so far (they are all under 3 min) but this one is my favorite so far:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Vf0YfDUys

There was also a very nice French family on the boat who took this photo for us. Chris had just gone swimming. He did a fancy jump off the boat that impressed all the men, he then climbed up a small island that was nearby to check it out. I stayed on the boat, none of the women went swimming so I felt a little shy busting out the belly and climbing down yet another rickety ladder.

The romantic boat ride

It was hard to take one picture that really captured the boat ride. I booked a dhow (traditional wooden fishing boat) cruise for the afternoon on Friday. We were very lucky to have a lot of overcast weather last week so I knew it would be bearable in the afternoon. Everyone I know that has been to Musandam has loved the boat cruises because of the scenery (mountains, fishing villages and dolphins). When Chris and I arrived at the dock it was just us and a Lebanese man that had just moved to the area to work at our hotel. I panicked as we set foot on the boat when I scanned for a bathroom. The boat was much too high to jump off of and even in normal circumstances the chances of me being able to hold it for four hours is highly unlikely, as a pregnant woman I am lucky if I can make it 30 minutes without discovering the nearest bathroom. The good news? I now know every bathroom location in Dubai. All I saw was a rickety ladder that went below deck. That didn't look too appealing either. I looked at the other boats docked next to us. One had a visible toilet by the captains area, oh sorry head for you boat terminology people....I looked at our boat again and found we had the same structure- it just had a closed door. Big sigh of relief, big sigh and laugh from Chris who is still not tired of making fun of my baby bladder. I keep telling him to just wait- it surely won't be getting any better. So at this point I think wow, only three people on this cruise, cool. It would be better without the Lebanese guy but hey it is a big boat. All of a sudden I heard noises, the kind you might hear in a neighborhood around 3pm when the school bus does its drop off. I turned around and a mass of people were coming onto the boat. At last count there were at least 17 Children and about 15 adults. The atmosphere on the boat changed drastically to say the least. The boat became crazy with activity. The Muslim family on the right side of the boat set up a full on Indian buffet, the Hindu family on the left side of the family busted out cans of Bud and a bottle of whiskey. The children ran from one end of the boat to the other- always, always, landing on Chris's big toe. I made Chris get up and check the cooler to make sure there was enough water- I got nervous. The boat ride was so much fun, the kids were of course adorable and well behaved. We got to see dolphins on the way back and after that all of the children passed out with exhaustion- they just collapsed whereever they were regardless of whose body they were up against. I had a couple cuties near me. We noticed some pretty nice looking yachts in the water so next time we might splurge a bit more on the boat cruise... By the way the toilet turned out to be a hole in the floor- no biggie after my peace corps days but a bit trickier when the boat is moving and your whole sense of balance is a bit different...

The typical Dubai style dilemna

Well, there are only 2 hotels in Musandam. One is super swanky, probably 6 or 7 stars and it is highly recommended. It is also 700 US dollars a night and has a 3 night minimum for the summer because it is the "high season". Let me tell you, the Gulf is never in it's peak of tourism in the summer, most hotels have great rates this time of year but not this one. Obviously we stayed at the other hotel. It wasn't dirt cheap of course, everything is relative in this region...Well after our beautiful drive to the area the hotel looked great. Our room had a balcony and a sea view. That is however where the luxury ended. The entire hotel was staffed by waiters that seemed to have no training at all (not their fault) and an overly sarcastic Omani manager. He delighted in telling us no every time we asked for something- he was very deadpan about it until he saw the look of dismay on our faces at which point he would laugh and admit he was kidding. Everything had to be asked for at least 10 times, it was like a hotel run by stoners. The restaurant was as brightly lit as my high school cafeteria, every meal was a buffet of dry and cold food. When night time came I had to forgo wearing my new sexy maternity dress for linen pants and a tank top, it just felt wrong to wear a dress considering the ambiance. We were pleasantly surprised though as we tucked in for our evening buffet that we could sit outside so we did...and we were joined by 2 extremely loud cats that were either in heat or starving. They sensed our animal lover hearts and took up permanent residence underneath our table. As grim as this sounds we had a great time- we laughed constantly and reminisced about St. Lucia, now that was a nice hotel and it was cheaper!

Musandam is known as the Norway of Arabia. UAE is the light colored portion of the map for those of you who really haven't done your homework and we drove north to the tip of Oman that is basically a series of fjiords. If you are interested in learning more about the geography and geology of the area see this link:

http://www.geocities.com/suonnoch/Oman/Musandam.htm

Early Anniversary trip to Oman

I have a weakness for pygmy goats- I think they are too cute- here is one chilling in the shade at the UAE/Oman border.

Since I won't be here for our anniversary and Chris had a long weekend we traveled a couple of hours to Musandam, an area of Oman just north of UAE.

swanky party

Yet another picture of only me...I am so vain huh? Chris and I were leaving a party last night and couldn't resist a belly shot in the art deco lobby. Chris had to work yesterday so I spent the day being pretty lazy before picking him up and heading to the beach. Our favorite time is 6pm on the beach, the sun is setting so it is bearable. We usually go for a walk and a swim together on the weekends and during the week I go by myself or with other neighbors. Last night we met our friends Andrea, Tomas, Maria and Ricardo on the beach and stayed until it was dark. It is truly my most favorite thing about living here and I try to be thankful for it every time I think about Dubai. Later we went to Ruby Tuesday (seriously...) it is one of the newest restaurants in our complex and we just had to check it out. I don't think I have ever been to one. I don't think I need to go again but the salad bar was yummy! Our complex Jumeriah Beach Residences is a bit of a Dubai sham in many ways but really nice in others. We rented here knowing the "plans" would most likely change and indeed they have now that the developers have sold all the apartments. Outside of our apartment there will (allegedly) still be a free pathway to the beach but all other areas are being used for public parking lots and private beach clubs. A bit of a shock to all the people that thought they were buying into a private community that would provide amenities. They also nixed the construction of all but two gyms in the buildings (that house 30,000 people) figuring we could all just pay to use private ones...Oh Dubai! The upside for us is- we still get the free access outside our door and one of the two gyms is going in our complex-we got lucky. We are hoping the beach clubs will offer pre-sales and deals for residences as well because it could be worth it depending on the price of course so we aren't getting our hopes up too high... The major benefit to all the development around here has been the shops and cafes. Sure it is just more places to blow your money but it is nice when I am working from home to be able to pop downstairs for a coffee and feel like I did get out a bit. It will be nice with the baby as well since there are different options in each block so you can walk a lot or a little...we are just hoping a grocery store will open soon, there are four planned but so far none are visible. Here is a link to a commercial for JBR- I am sure it is disgusting PR but probably intriguing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-csM4I9Drfg

After our wonderful meal we walked to a party at a friend of Andres and Maria's. Now you are probably thinking we do walk a lot for a place we always complain about not being able to walk in...well the party was at the same place I wrote about a few weeks ago that I said we walked to. The party was hosted by an American woman whose party was a modern day version of the one Audrey Hepburn threw in Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was a very international and cosmopolitan crowd full of random personal connections. We ran into someone Chris knows through a work friend and also some friends of mine that I know through a completely different group of friends. The hostess wore a colorful dress, heels and flitted about laughing loudly. There was even a cat that perched itself on a high bookshelf to watch the crowd. Chris actually got tired before me so we didn't stay too late. These days I feel so great that I try to soak it up as best I can. I know there will be a lot of tiredness in my future! I was talking to our great friend Brad the other day on Skype (with video) and my sharp eyes noticed his glass of chilled white wine in a tumbler- it seems like the days of a glass of wine in the afternoon are a lifetime away...so he asked me how I feel and I said great, I always wondered how I would feel if I cut out sugar, alcohol and caffeine for an extended period of time and now I know...it make you feel really healthy! Now a true detox would be cutting out dairy and wheat too but I don't see myself ever doing that, especially not pregnant! So it is Saturday afternoon here, Chris is at work...again and I just got back from Satwa to pick up a couple of skirts I had made. I had a moment of Dubai bliss as I left the tailor because he gave me a great price on the skirts, because Satwa is loud, dirty and gritty and because a guy at the grocery store insisted on carrying my bags to my car for me (being pregnant sure does have perks) and this bubble of total love and euphoria was burst as I noticed a huge Range Rover with tinted windows had parked parallel behind me preventing me from leaving. Oh well, the owner returned in about 10 minutes and my good mood prevailed. Sometimes I love that Dubai doesn't have tow trucks and sometimes I hate it!