Christmas at Al Qasr

 This is my favorite hotel here.  Yes, hotels and malls are decorated for Christmas.  

Camel crossing?

Face-down....us headed downhill.

Dune-bashing....

Desert Safari

Seven of us did a Desert Safari last weekend.  We did dune bashing, camel riding, henna painting, and some of us even ended up on the dance floor with the belly dancer (I have pictures of that event). 

Definitely put it on your list of Dubai things to do.

Saw Rain

I was in the library on campus today when I saw ripples in the reflecting pools in the courtyard. At first I thought it was just air bubbles created by the sweeper that was in the pool. I looked up again and several of my students were staring out the window. I follwed their gaze and could see that there actually was rain falling--falling lightly, but enough to create the ripples in the water. I had this urge to run outside and stand in it. I haven't seen rain since I left Austin almost three months ago. It didn't last long, but it was a lovely thing to see.

Next time I am out the door!

My Girl

Ava Grace--I sure do miss you.

Group at the Beach

We have found the most beautiful beach here—a taxicab driver told us about it. It is Mamzar Park Beach. It is a very nice beach area with lots of palm trees and little shelters made of palm fronds. The sand is so soft and there is grass—something to appreciate.

The water has cooled off now a bit so it doesn't feel like bath water anymore when you walk into the water. I actually shivered the last time I got in. The shivering did not last long but it was so good to actually feel like you could cool off by getting in the water. The picture is the happy group—less the photographer—enjoying being outside.

Sorry, sorry

I have been hearing from friends that the blog is sadly out of date. Apologies, but it has been kind of crazy trying to set up house from scratch, get ready for classes, meet people, get places, and most recently--hang out with my daughter. But I do have pictures now! Perhaps that will make up for my dismal posting record.

The latest on the transportation front--Wendy got a drivers license and a car. So, it was the Aussie who stepped up to the plate to "give it a go" as she would say. I have great admiration for her. Neither Anke nor I are yet ready to try the extreme sport of driving in Dubai. Life is so much better now; no standing in massive taxi lines in 100+ heat, fewer grumpy taxi driver encounters, and much less stress. I am the navigator of record, which Melanie apparently finds to be quite hilarious, and have only gotten us deeply desert lost once so far. We ended up in the Ras Al Khor Industrial Area--my students thought that was so funny—after 45 minutes we realized we were just doing really large circles around the campus. That was day 1. We have managed to get home 2 days now without any difficulty. Of course, they haven't closed the road on us either. When that happens there will be a scramble as we try to find alternate routes home. They close the roads frequently. No warning, little signage. Just panic, scream, crash—barricades, where there used to be lanes.

It is Ramadan now and so we are usually starving by the time we head home. Also, traffic is bad much earlier. Yesterday as we sat sweating in the stalled traffic at about 2:45, we all said "This is ridiculous--we are so close to the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel (our former home) let's just swing by there and have some lunch and wait for the traffic to dissipate." The Blue Elephant (great Thai place, in case you find your way here someday) was open. Service was slow--think they were all hungry too--but the food and company was great. Had a really nice cappuccino after lunch and then zoomed home with ease. Went to a pub later at the Sheraton for some wine and found yet another fabulous pastry shop. Drooled on the case, but did not purchase. Those who know me well will be amazed, I am sure.

Did a very touristy thing on Saturday as it was Melanie’s final weekend here. Took a dinner cruise on the creek and had a very good "touristy" time. The food was excellent, which was surprising—you don’t really expect good food on a little wooden dhow—and it was very pretty at night on the water. Next on our “touristy” list is a desert safari—camping out in tents and hanging out with the camels. Sounds like excellent fun! We also just learned that you can get a luxury helicopter ride over Dubai with champagne and other goodies for a mere 4000 dirhams. Might have to wait on that one for a bit.

Hope you are all well and life is good.

Friday-Wireless

Well, thanks to Anke downstairs--I have wireless. Works quite well in the living room--not so much anywhere else. It will do until I get myself over to Etisalat and get my own land phone and broadband.

The purpose of this blog is to make a request. Cannot make ichat work here, but GoogleTalk does for some reason. Friends and family--please set it up on your desktop so we can chat--very easy!

Because of it--Internet connection--I have been doing way too much messing around with the computer and not much else. Must get myself out of the house asap and get some things accomplished. More later....

Two Weeks Now

Blog Update

August 26, 2007

After two weeks in Dubai…I am no longer feeling jet lagged...have some sense of direction…starting to say “yeah-yeah-yeah” and “no worries” is sure to follow…have a bed and a chair…know what I am teaching this semester…have identified my favorite Italian restaurant and the best tiramisu…have not found a bread bakery…have found an Iranian bakery that makes cream puffs…cannot find the left shift key on the ThinkPad...find myself really annoyed by having to monitor cell phone usage as I have to keep purchasing Wasel recharge cards…enjoy hearing the call to prayer from the mosque next door…love going in the entry to my tower past the perfume shop, which always puts out incense in their entry…have made spaghetti sauce and had dinner with new friends on a newly delivered table—the only one who possesses such a thing as yet…am joyfully awaiting the arrival in 11 days of my first visitor—Melanie—who is going to bring me a suitcase full of Soy Vay and Libby’s canned pumpkin…took a 35-minute walk in the 105+degree heat and found myself wishing I had bought a parasol in Tokyo…have ridden in taxis driven by Bengalis, Pakistanis, Arabs, and East Indians and have both laughed and nearly cried… have looked at 15 different furniture stores and not purchased anything…have been to Ikea at least 10 times…know my way around the mall I live above …have found Starbucks and internet access downstairs—but no chai…haven’t missed TV at all (but that will change as soon as football starts)…have already watched Pride and Prejudice—thanks Meredith…have lost weight, even with the tiramisu and cream puffs…have talked to Ava Grace on the phone…have limited myself to 10-minute calls with Melanie… have lost a dear friend and had no one to talk with about it here who could understand the measure of that loss…have been amazed and dismayed…have missed all the people I love more than I can begin to describe.

Classes begin a week from today.

FIRST DAY

Well, this is a first day-in-Dubai update. It was a great day--even with the jet lag. Met 3 new people--we all live in the same building. Got together for dinner tonight in the hotel--great Thai food restaurant called the Blue Elephant. Wende is from Australia. Valerie is most recently from Cypress and Anke is from Germany. There were 25 new faculty members across the University from all over the world. Several from the US, then Egypt, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, etc.

They took us to our apartments. Very nice--spacious. Huge pool. Whole complex sits on top of a shopping mall (oh oh--this could be bad). It is called the Al Gherair Center and is in Deira--an older section of Dubai--close to the Corniche on the Gulf. Valerie has a view of the Gulf from her apartment--very nice.

Promise to post pictures soon. Going now before I completely crash in the middle of the lobby.

Sojourn in Dubai

I decided I would create a blog to record my life in Dubai for those friends and family members who have an interest in knowing about my experiences. I have never used a blog outside of class, so this is new and I am not entirely at ease talking about myself in this format. However, it seems like the most effective way to reach everyone (this way you can just come look if you are interested--fewer emails backing up in the system). I will try to keep the posts short and let pictures do much of the talking. A dear friend suggested that I post some pictures that include me in them--not my favorite thing--so that my granddaughter, Ava Grace, can see that Mimi is actually there next to the camels she loves to photograph. So, I will see if I can prevail upon strangers and hopefully, new friends to take pictures of me next to other more interesting people and things.

FYI: I fly out of Austin on August 10, 2007, land in Dubai on August 11, and begin orientation at Zayed University on August 12. As the countdown begins now in earnest--less than five weeks away--I will try to update the blog from time to time with regard to my progress, or lack thereof. Thanks to all my dear friends and my wonderful family for their support.