Dubai, Refreshing

Dubai

I went to Dubai for the weekend. Really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure if I would like all the glitz and glam, but I really did. Often on Sundays in our 3A morning meetings, we do a lightning share, which means every student can share something but it must be lighting quick. I usually say, "Describe your weekend in 1 or 2 words."  That's what I said today. I shared, "Dubai, refreshing."


Easy Transportation
Dubai's clean reliable Metro is one reasons I give it kudos. It's mostly rode by the approximately 80% foreigners that live in the UA emirate. I'd guess the majority of Dubai's residents are actually Indian. I'd also guesstimate 70% of them are men. Which makes it nice that there are special Women and Children Only metro cars. I like. Metro tickets are reasonably priced, as well. A day pass is equivalent to about 6 US dollars. 



A Few Things I Experienced on my Visit

Palm Island
I went to the, man-made, so-big-can-see-from-space, palm tree- shaped, island.

(I did not take this picture.) Atlantis is in the middle at the bottom.

Atlantis
Went to Atlantis, a hotel themed after the mythical underwater city with the same name. My students love Atlantis and talk about it, so I wanted to go see it. They actually stay there, though.  During my visit, I wondered, "What is the big deal?" But, if I was to stay there, I would have a sweet room and access to the beach. I wasn't impressed, but if I get more info on how to swim with the dolphins and sea lions there, I might change my tune. 

Inside a room. Ditto on not taking this one.

Burj Kalifa
A rode the super fast and smooth elevator up to the tall Burj Kalifa. I had gorgeous weather and I went at 8 am so there were hardly any other visitors. I loved it. The entrance is inside the mall.

The size of the Eiffel tower and other famous land marks in comparison to Burj Kalifa. 

Dubai Mall
The world's biggest mall, Dubai Mall has an ice rink and an aquarium. I went to college next to the Mall of America and Kuwait has the whole shmansy (as in fancy-shmansy) mall scene, so not much new there. I went both days before the shops were open though. I really enjoyed wandering and snapping a few shots when it was virtually empty. Except for all the worker and cleaners. I drank my joe and people watched in front of the fountain and the Burj Kalifa. 








There's also another mall(I also visited), Mall of the Emirates, with an indoor ski destination, Ski Dubai. 

Heritage Village
On the last day, Mary and I, happily, wandered into the Heritage (old city) area. Very picturesque. 








Maybe Next Time
Next time I want to explore a bit more of the trendy, Marina area. And I missed the famous evening fountain show at the Dubai mall! Traffic, darn you. I really wanted to experience that. I'd also like to spend some time at one of their clean public beaches. Maybe even skydive! Never done that before. And I wanna see me some flamingos. Maybe next time.

Just like in Kuwait, car seats are not required by law.

Family dinner: Husband, wife and mother-N-law on one side, nanny and the kids, on the other. Not an uncommon sight in Kuwait either.

Dubai graffiti?

They even have San Francisco style trolleys?

CAMEL MILK chocolate anyone?

Sweet English and Arabic combo of the name. 

Buying an Abaya

Baking in a Foreign Country.
You convert grams to cups and meticulously measure. You use foresight to buy and bring a Fahrenheit temperature gauge from America. Your experience warned you that your foreign oven will either have a Celsius gauge or, more likely, no way to measure how hot it is. And still they don't turn out. Those chocolate chip cookies you wanted to make for your book club are just okay, even though you spring for the brand name chips, the expensive butter and the rare, and thus, pricey brown sugar. Is it because the oven heats differently, because of the strong molasses aroma of the sugar, or maybe quality and price of butter don't match? Who knows. I sure don't. As a baker I hate extending energy and not getting perfection. In that regard, my book club baking was a fail.  Baking in a foreign land.

Book Club.

Book Club was great though. I squeaked through it and had to call in sick the next day but that was not a result of the meeting or the baking. (And we did eat all the cookies.) 

Next month we are reading:

I've never heard of it, but I'm up for it.

In March it will be:

Calling in Sick/ Teaching without a Voice.

At the end of the day, my patience is thin and student's attention is waning. I had laid out his 2 choices, 1) stop blurting during the lesson or 2) continue to blurt. If he did the first he could remain in class, the second would result in leaving. He chose the latter so I told him go sit with the class across the hall. He began to argue, so, in my most serious do-NOT-argue-with-me voice I said "Go!" What came out was a chipmunk chirp. Everyone was quiet but, I couldn't help breaking into a smile and so the entire class fell into hysteria. Minus my 2 sensitive children who were telling everyone, "It's not nice to laugh at the teacher."  They were also the ones who offered to read for me, asked if I needed water, and looked intently concerned the entire day. The poor choice making boy left the class and I called in sick the next morning.

Free Medicine

Here when I send a child to the nurse, (I have to write a very specific pass EVERY time, but I digress,) the children actually get medicine provided by the school.  *Bonus. So do I. I got some awesome, numbing cough drops which I was too lazy and cheap to get for myself.

Snow Day.
I pinned this to my Middle East Pinterest board way back thinking, funny. Though applicable for Nebraska, it's ironic for Kuwait.

But in the middle of winter, in Kuwait, I did just receive 2 unexpected days off. It will never have a cute poster on Pinterest though. "Due to the Saudi king's unfortunate death there will be no school for students and faculty..."

A little more about that here:
The King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, died Friday at the age of 90 from a lung infection. Many Arab nations, including Kuwait, announced a period of mourning. All government ministries have shut down for three days. The king was an ally during the Gulf war. His brother, in his late 70's and also reportedly not of the best health, is the new king. I read an article reporting that no policies or political changes are expected to take place in the kingdom. 

Buying an Abaya.
Because of the above, my planned Old Kuwait City tour was also a cancelled this weekend. Boo. Instead I went to a Souk(market) and purchased an abaya, hijab and nicab, all in black.  An abaya is the long sleeved, loose fitting dress women often wear outside over their clothes.  The hijab is the scarf you use to cover your head and the niqab is the square that goes across your face, only showing your eyes.  All three pieces are sold separately.  At least, that was the case in the ones I purchased. I've heard it is wise just to have one in case of an emergency.

Do you know how to wear a hijab? Well if you are curious, check out this video:

Send me a picture if you try it out. :)

About the above picture: I have never seen a burqa here. Chadors are rare. Hijabs are the most common, but Niqabs (worn with the hijab) is also quite common, though I've never personally talked to anyone with one on.

Biweekly.

I have been grappling with the idea of only publishing my blog every other week, or biweekly. Because I just don't have many novel things to share anymore. I then wondered, Biweekly? Wait, does that mean once every two weeks or twice a week? There is a big difference between those.

Quick Google search reveals:

adjective & adverb
1. appearing or taking place every two weeks or twice a week.  For example, "a biweekly bulletin".

Well. That clears things right up. 

Regardless, I'm planning to publish every other week from now on.

VPN's and Travel

Blame it on the Culture Shock.
Being outside, in my neighborhood, just makes me grumpy. Why the garbage? Why the noise, people, the chaos? Why the stares!?

Routine.
I've slid into a bit of a monotonous after-school routine. It involves television, ordering food, my couch and my treadmill. I wish I was picking up my guitar more often and ordering out a bit less but, for now, it's working for me.

After winter break, I decided I needed to make a couple changes.  I now sleep in.  Until 4:00 am.  So I'm sleeping 50 minutes a day later than the first part of the school year.  Because of this, I catch the second bus provided by the school. They actually provide 4 every morning just for us.  One at 5:15 am(the one I used to catch), one at 5:45 am and two at 6:00 am. I also try my best to catch the 3:00 pm bus home. 

VPNs are Awesome.
If they had VPNs when I lived overseas before, I didn't know it.  I bought one. It convinces nbc.com, hulu.com, etc. that I am in America.  Did you know those sites don't work outside of America?  How else am I going to show my hometown pride by watching The Blacklist.  The creator is from my hometown and, last I heard, still living there.

Travel Plans
I have a couple upcoming trips planned.  I'll embark on a weekend getaway to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in March.  I've also signed up for some pretty extravagant April travel, in India. Going to see the Taj Mahal. I spent time in India back in 2009 but I was only in the south. This 7 day luxury vacation will be vastly different than that 7 week service trip.