I'm on a boat

I can't tell you how many times in my six years of living in Chicago I said, "I need to make a friend who has a boat."  And it never happened.  I spent six summers enjoying Lake Michigan from the shores of North Avenue and Montrose Beach.  Sad, I know.

Luckily, Ryan met our Australian friend Dan pretty immediately in his training class, and he was kind enough to buy a boat that we can go on while in Dubai.  Thanks, Dan!

We've been out twice with him so far and it's so much fun.  We have to go early, which is pretty tough for Ryan, (he generally wakes up around noon) but it's nice to get out before it gets too hot.  The sweltering heat, paired with the fact that it's Ramadan, means we pretty much have the water to ourselves.  Dan has water skis, a wake board, and now a tube (which the weird Australians apparently call a biscuit.)  I haven't tried the wake board yet, but I love the water skis.

Dan about to "surf" on the kite board.

Me, holding on for dear life.

Ryan on the water skis.  What a background, right?

Burj Al Arab from the water.

Another fun thing I've done recently was visiting Dubai's only Hindu temples.  The temple complex is located in Bur Dubai.  We were only able to tour one temple, the Krishna Temple.  The line at the Shiva temple was way too long and we didn't have time.  I really wish I could have taken some photos, but we were asked not to take any within the temple.  Our tour guides were amazing.  Extremely kind and generous, genuinely wanting to share their space with us and teach us about their religion.  We saw two different services, both of which were very interesting.  Lots of chanting, a beautifully decorated altar, and we were even able to participate in the purchasing and offering of gifts - flower garlands.   I can't even begin to pretend I know even a little about Hinduism, but I am grateful I was given the opportunity to tour the temple and learn a bit about another religion and culture.

Tonight I'm heading to the American Consulate for an 80's themed party that the Marines there are throwing.  I'm going with some AWA girls.  Thanks to H&M we were all able to get some good costumes.  Pictures to come!