Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Abu Dhabi

I keep finding myself stepping back and thinking "Holy Crap.  I actually live here.  I am living in flipping DUBAI."  I'm sure the novelty of that will wear off soon, but right now it's extremely fresh.  The nice thing about a place like Dubai is that everyone here was once the new person in a strange country, so people are more than willing to make new friends and invite you along to social events.  So far I've met quite a few really nice, fun people.  I went out for "ladies night" Tuesday night and had a blast.

Monday I went to Abu Dhabi with the AWA for a trip to view the Treasures of the World's Cultures exhibit.  We all met at the Ibn Battuta Mall (which I have to check out next time I'm in the mood to shop) and took a bus to Abu Dhabi.  Once we arrived, we discovered we couldn't quite go in yet because a Sheik had just shown up and wanted to tour the exhibit.  We have no idea which Sheik, but still very cool!  Well, except for the part where we had to sit in the bus for a bit, but that wasn't too bad.  After they let us go in, we had lunch at a really adorable cafe in the museum.  The food was delicious and they had the best chocolate ice cream I've ever tasted in my life.  I might have to make a trip back there with Ryan, just for the food.  The exhibit was very interesting and featured ancient and modern art from all around the world.  Photography wasn't permitted inside the museum, but I took some outdoor shots.  From what I gather, Abu Dhabi is much more into the arts, culture, and conservation.  They are opening a group of new museums soon, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which will house a spectrum of modern and contemporary works, and the dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi.  They are all part of the Zayed National Museum and you can read about it all here so that I don't mess up any facts.  I'm really interested in the history of the UAE, ancient and current, so I'd like to find some good museums with that information.  Also, I learned that there is an excavation site that is as old as the pyramids, and isn't too far from where we live.  I'll definitely have to check that out!

The Zayed National Museum.  We didn't see this as I don't think it's open yet?
Our table set all pretty for us.  NMF people - gave me NBTI nightmares ;)
The entrance to the museum
My last bit of news is that I've agreed to chair the 2013 AWA Charity Gala on February 8th.  Since I learned of the AWA, I assumed that I'd volunteer to help with the gala - it just made sense with my event planning background.  But it turns out they really needed a chair so I said I'd do it.  I'm hoping I can live up to their expectations!  The event looks like it was beautiful last year and I hope I can keep up that tradition.  

1 comment:

  1. Sounds amazing! So happy you are meeting so many great people, see I knew everyone would take you under their wing. As for the event, I guess you just can't keep a good girl down :) Chairing that Gala will be awesome, what a great opportunity to start your next adventure! Can't wait to hear more about the excavation site too, jealous!

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