Greetings from the Middle East!! I was off work for the past 9 days and it was FABULOUS!!! Ramadan is officially over and was followed by one week holiday to celebrate Eid El Fitr. My school holiday started at the end of the day on Thursday, September 17 and we returned to school on Sunday September 27.
OMG -- OVER 2 WEEKS OF INTERNET PROBLEMS!! Spent an hour the other night updating the blog and my internet just died before I had a chance to save or post my work -- everything was erased -- the entire written masterpiece! I have since tried to start over and my internet has gone down again. I have had the internet provider to my apartment 3 times in the past 2 weeks.
So here I go again .........
Originally I had thought of going to Muskat Oman with a friend, but by the time we got our potential plans lined up it was the day before our tentative departure. We decided it was all too rushed so we decided to travel to Dubai for 3 days instead. It was a good decision because my gastroenteritits was acting up a bit and it would have been most uncomfortable to travel when I needed a day of rest.
My friend, Emma Mercado, has lived in Dubai for the last year and decided to move to Abu Dhabi and work at my school this year. Picture a 5'1" American/Mexican, full-of-hell, fun-loving, fiesty woman with 2 masters degrees. She was my travel companion of choice and you can see why!! She has her international drivers license and would be able to navitage her way. We rented a car and hit the highway.
The barren desert between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is a reminder that the development in this young country is fairly new and continues to flourish. There are pockets of development as we traveled the clear new highway. No speed limit signs naturally encourage speeders -- if only I had been behind the wheel!! There are occasional radar monitors as you get closer to Dubai to clock your speed and issue electronic tickets. The trip took about 1.5 hours and passed quickly.
As you approach, Dubai traffic increases and you come upon the most impressive buildings of shiny steel and sparkling glass that reflect the sun's rays. The architecture is truly impressive and innovative. You know a great city lies ahead!! Intricate highways unfold and constant construction causes roads to change and driving to become confusing and erratic. We made our way to the apartment building that Emma used to live in. One of her friends had vacated her apt for a few days so we had a place to stay. I met some of Emma's friends who were most hospitable and welcoming.
Although I have made my first trip to Dubai, I never lunched at "The Burj" or rubbed shoulders with the residents of "The Palm". I never made it to the grand hotels along the water or the "Mall of the Emirates" to ski on the indoor ski hill. This city needs many trips to take in everything and on this trip we started slow with 3 malls and visiting with Emma's friends. It was a warm-up for future visits.
I must note that all the malls are really beautiful and extremely modern. We first visited a mall in Sharjah which is a neighbouring emirate that is more conservative than Dubai. Naturally I did not wear my halter top and Daisy Duke shorts on this trip! We then went to a fantastic mall in Festival City back in Dubai. This is the mall Emma frequently shopped at when she lived in Dubai. Very large and home to a huge IKEA.
The next day we enjoyed a lovely breakfast hosted by Emma's friend Wanda (Canadian) and also attended by April (American). So we had 2 Canadians and 2 Americans just to even things out. We all then made our way to the "Ibn Bututa" mall. I loved this place!!! Ibn Bututa is a famous arabic explorer who traveled and discovered many lands and the finary they had to offer. The mall is divided into sections based on his travels. For example, the Persian section would be decorated like Persia, the Indian section like Indian the Egyptian section like Egypt and so on. It was so unique and beautiful.
We enjoyed our short visit and returned back to Abu Dhabi after 3 days. I am waiting for the arrival of my brother Scott to partake in the full Dubai experience in December.
Upon arrival back to Abu Dhabi I met with friends for dinners and drinks, slept in every day and went to school on 3 separate occasions to try and get myself more organized.
We organized a "field trip" for a group of 12 of us to the "Grand Mosque". This is the largest or second largest mosque in the world. It was quite impressive. All woman had to wear an "abya" and cover our heads. The workmanship is absolutely magnificant and very intricate. Remember, money is no object here! Marble, granite, crystal, gold -- it has it all. The carpet is the largest hand made carpet in the world. Everything is hand crafted and spotlessly clean. We spent a couple hours here and anyone who visits me will have this stop on their list of "must see places."
I bought a lovely carpet from a market exhibition that was hand made in Afghanistan. It is a Killim rug and contains all my favourite decorating colours. I have also purchased 2 stunning wall hangings that were made in Kashmir. They are a patchwork of beading and handwork. My roommates have moved out to there own apartment so I have been on my own for 1 week now and LOVING IT!! This privacy will be short-lived as I will eventually get a new roommate. I have however, tried to warm up the place a bit with my new purchases and I am having the apartment painted to get rid of the large, stark-white walls. I otherwise feel comfortable in this apartment and have adjusted quite well. It is not 2483 Chilver by any means, but I am very adaptable to living quarters and my decorating and "stuff" are what make it home.
This break was great to recharge, reconnect and rejuvenate myself. That has been about it in the past few weeks. I will try to post pictures and will now begin a new post to fill you in on the past week since I started back to school.
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