Ramadan

It's obviously been a very long time since I've last posted, but things have been pretty quiet around here.  I'm attributing this to a few things.  One, it's Ramadan.  Two, Ryan is buckling down to finish his training and has been studying like crazy.

I've been hearing about Ramadan since I've moved here and was pretty curious about the whole thing.  I still don't know a ton about it, but what I do know is that it's a really holy month where Muslims fast from sun rise to sun down.  Like, no food or water of any kind.  They can't even chew gum.  Which means, out of respect, non Muslims are required to abstain from eating or drinking in public during this month.  I went to the mall last week and it was kind of eery to see all the food places closed down.  What was really strange was going to see a matinee and not being able to get popcorn and a soda.  Of course, the entire theater still smelled like popcorn, which made it even more difficult.  Many expats choose to leave the country during this time and go on holiday.  Not knowing any better, Ryan and I chose to stick it out.  Really, it hasn't been that bad, just very quiet.  There are a few restaurants that are open during the day, they just have the blinds drawn or screens up to hide people eating.  You can still find some bars that are open in the evening (Longs Bar!) but the music is really quiet and it just feels a bit different.  On the up side, all the malls are super quiet so I've been able to get some good shopping done without having to fight the crowds.

One thing you seriously want to avoid is being on the roads any time near sundown.  People are hauling butt to get home as fast as possible to eat.  It obviously takes some serious religious dedication to go without food or water until sundown.  I mean, I'm a cranky mess if I don't eat by 10 am.

Once sundown hits, everyone gathers to break the fast for an Iftar dinner.  I have not been to one yet, but from what I understand they are large, super delicious and awesome buffet dinners.  I'm hoping to attend one at some point this month, so I'll report back on that.

Tomorrow I'm going with the AWA to a Hindu Temple in town.  I'm looking forward to it!

4th of July

Well, we've had our first 4th of July away from the USA.  The day itself was pretty uneventful.  Ryan didn't get home until 7am or so from a work trip so he slept a good portion of the day.  I did a little bit of shopping (surprise, surprise) and then we had tacos for dinner.  I can't tell if that's very American or not American at all?

A week or two ago we did buy a grill.  Both of us missed the one we left with my parents back in Omaha.  It would have been expensive to ship and we weren't sure if we'd even have anywhere here to put it.  But two months into the summer without any grilled food was too long so Ryan headed to Ace Hardware and bought us a new one.  Other than the tacos we made on the 4th, we've pretty much grilled any meal we can since our purchase.

We didn't let America's birthday pass without any celebration, though.  My new friend, Valerie, invited us to her 4th of July and co-birthday party on the 5th.  It was in their super swanky 21st-floor apartment in the Marina.  They went all out with some really delicious food, awesome cakes that Valerie made herself (she's a really talented baker!) and tons of patriotic decorations.  One of their guests even brought face painting gear and painted people's faces.  It was really cool.

British cake (though it had a secret US flag on the inside)

USA!

My USA nails

Terrifying face paint.  His eyes are closed.

I have to say, though, the highlight of the evening is where my fellow American, Megan, and I beat out two Brits for the beer pong championship.  USA!  USA!

The Blue Souk

On Wednesday the AWA ladies loaded up another Zara bus and headed out for a trip.  This time we went to the Blue Souk.  The Blue Souk is an old-world style shopping center located in Sharjah, which is another Emirate about 45 minutes from Dubai.  It's a big blue tiled building, which is where it gets its name.  It holds a bunch of little one-room shops which are each run by a different shop owner.  Their goods range from pashminas and scarves, carpets, antiques, jewelry, pottery, and other Middle Eastern items.  My favorite shop was Sorma Novelties, a pashmina shop run by a man named Naveed.  We spent a good amount of time in this shop listening to Naveed teach us about the craftsmanship that went into the different scarves and pashminas - which ones were more mass produced and which ones were made by hand in Kashmir, his home town.  He was not only an interesting person, but extremely nice and well spoken.  I highly recommend his shop if you ever end up in the Blue Souk.  He had some really beautiful pieces.

Part of the souk shopping experience is haggling with the sellers to bring down the price.  I was told to always counter offer at half of where they start their price.  And use phrases like, "I live here, I'm not a tourist" or "Give me your best price and I'll bring my friends back next time."  I was super nervous about haggling, but did OK.  I walked away from a few things, got my way once, and once or twice didn't haggle at all because the shop owner came recommended and their prices were already fair.  I totally need to go back before my next trip home.  

Here's what I came back with:

A necklace made out of old coins.

A scarf (not pictured)

A coffe table mat set.  I'm using the longer piece for decoration on our dining room table.

After our shopping adventure we headed to nearby Pizzaro Pizza.  We were all starving at this point and hoping for some good food.  We weren't disappointed.  I had the best Margherita pizza I've probably ever had in my life.  And the restaurant gave us each our own much with our Zodiac sign on it to take home!  The hospitality here can be amazing.

I put an embarrassing dent in this pizza all by myself

My only other update is that Renard has a girlfriend.  Our neighbors also have a rescue dog with separation anxiety and we watched her the other day while they were out.  In return they took Renard to a horse farm!  Their dog's name is  Maggie and she's a total sweetheart.  Plus, she looks like Falcor, the Luck Dragon from The Never Ending Story!  Here are some pictures from their "date."

Daiso

Can we talk about Daiso Japan???  Yesterday I went to the Oasis Shopping Centre, which has a few clothing stores, a Carrefour Market, and a bunch of home good stores.  I was on the hunt for curtain rods and office supplies (so I can organize my AWA Gala stuff!)  I was pretty successful with the curtain rods at Max, which is a store that seems to have a little of everything.  I couldn't find any good binders or notebooks, though.  I wanted something somewhat stylish and cute.  If my stuff is pretty I'm more likely to stay organized.  I ended up wandering into some back corner in the mall and found Daiso Japan.  Seriously, this place is amazing.  It's all Japanese imported items and just chalked full of super cheap, cutesy, weird Japanese items.  I could have gone nuts on random things I don't really need but look cool and come in fun designs.  In the end I got a neon green binder, a hole punch, two notebooks, two pocket notebooks, the perfect sized plastic bin for Renard's food, a coin purse (which you need for all your Dirhams), and paperclips all for AED 70 (about $19).  Not bad!  My favorite item, which I just had to have, is this notebook.  The poor translation made me giggle.  So adorable.

When I separate a hand, where does you fly to?

I may have found my new "happy place."

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.  

Irony and the Post Office

After a month off from training, Ryan's back at work and actually flying the Boeing 777.  He's still in training but is almost done, which is really exciting.  The 777 is a million times bigger than the CRJ he was flying back at his old job and he's actually doing international flights.  So far he's been to Pakistan, Cairo, and Jakarta.  We're hoping that once he's done with training I can go with him on a few of his longer trips.  I really haven't been anywhere outside of the US other than the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon and Mexico with my sister.  Part of our reason for taking this opportunity with Emirates Airline is that we will be able to travel the world.  Any recommendations on where to go?

Ryan had the day off yesterday before having to go back to work today, so we decided to get out and run a few errands.  I had wanted to do some shopping for the apartment, but this is Dubai and things always take longer than expected, so we got a few things done and then headed back home.  We started out at the Emirates Headquarters to pick up our mail.  The mail service here is pretty iffy, and most homes don't even have real addresses, so all employees get a PO box at HQ.  I have been expecting a few envelopes and a package for a while now so I was pretty antsy to see what had arrived.  We discovered a package had been delivered but was being held at the main post office downtown.  So we searched our iPhone maps, found what we thought was the post office, and headed there.  Am I the only one who finds it funny that we were unable to find an actual address for the POST OFFICE?  

Anyway, it turns out that since it was a package and not a letter, it had to be inspected by customs.  After the agent went through each item, put it through an X Ray machine, and we paid our DHS 2, we finally got the package.  It actually didn't take too long, so that was good.  And the extra trip was well worth it because we picked up a big box of goodies from my family!  

YUM

It's funny what being so far away from home will make you crave.  I mean, Oreos are always a thing for me, but I haven't seen Reese's since I left and for some reason I just needed some.  Dubai doesn't seem to be a big coffee drinking country and I was having trouble finding coffee that didn't taste like dirt, so I was ecstatic to find a giant bag of Dunkin' Donuts coffee.  

After the post office we headed to the Dubai Mall, which is right near the Burj Khalifa.  The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world, and it seriously makes you dizzy with how giant it is.  I love that we've lived in two cities that are or have been home to the world's tallest building.  We went outside of the mall to take some touristy shots.

The sun was making it difficult.  If you squint you can tell that I'm in the photo - right next to the fat horse.

Closer photo where you can actually see me.  I'm ready to stop taking pictures so we can get out of the 110 degree heat.

A giant fountain in the mall.  I should have written down the name.

In addition to our little photography session we had some lunch at the mall.  We played rock, paper, scissors to decide between PF Chang's and Red Lobster.  Ryan won for PF Chang's, but since he's such a nice husband, he gave in and we gorged on Red Lobster.  In hind site, we should have tried something new, but RL has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid.  I mean, it was always my birthday restaurant, and I just felt like a bit of home.  It was pretty good, but somehow not the same.  And I even ordered the Ultimate Feast.  I was talking with a new friend I met through the AWA the other day about going to restaurants that we loved back home and how they are always a little disappointing here.  She thinks it has to do with the fact that we love those places less for the actual food, and more for the memories associated with them.  And while it's nice to revisit those old memories, you can't really recreate them in on a completely different continent.  I think she's onto something. 

After we left Red Lobster we walked by one of those cute little sushi restaurants where you choose your dishes off of a conveyer belts that goes by your table.  We're definitely going to have to try that next time!

I'm getting excited for my Abu Dhabi trip on Monday.  Think I'll see Nermal?

Insha'Allah

Today I went to an American Women's Association of Dubai event at the Wafi Mall.  Wafi, which is an Egyptian themed mall, is shaped like a giant pyramid and is about 20 years old - which is pretty ancient in Dubai standards.  Ironic that it's a pyramid, no?

A really pretty, ornate glass ceiling at the Wafi Mall.  It's hard to tell, but it's the point to the pyramid

Three stores in the mall hosted our group for little shopping hours with discounts.  I got a really cute kimono top and an awesome bracelet at a cute boutique called Oasis.  Success!  One of the stores also hosted us for coffee at cafe in the mall.  While having coffee I learned about the phrase Insha'Allah, which basically translates into "God willing" or "If it is God's will."  From what I understand, people don't really like saying "no" here so instead they use this phrase.  Basically, it'll happen if it happens.  No promises because you never know what God wills.  Oh boy.  For those of you who know me well, this is going to be a really tough thing for me to deal with.  I am not a go-with-the-flow person and I really like to know definitely "yes" or "no."  On the bright side, maybe I'll emerge from Dubai a much more relaxed, easy going person?  Ryan laughed really hard when I mentioned this thought to him.


Unfortunately, I think I may be getting sick.  My throat has been killing me the last few days and it's getting worse.  I can barely swallow.  I stopped by the pharmacy on my way home from the mall to see what I could pick up and they recommended these things.  

They are seriously the most disgusting things I've ever tasted.   But they have helped numb my throat a bit, so I guess that's good.  Another thing I learned today about the UAE is that you can buy antibiotics over the counter without a prescription.  I thought about buying some Amoxicillin but chickened out.  Anyone know if that's a super bad idea or if I should just be a grown up and go to the Emirates Airline clinic?  For someone who worked at a hospital for six years, I'm sure bad at going when I should.
Next week I'm headed to Abu Dhabi with the AWA.  I'll try and remember to take lots of photos and blog about that trip. 

In the meantime, I think Ryan and I will be doing a lot more of this: