UAE Style

The view from our balcony

Well, well, well, I have arrived.  I remember last time I came over here I was all hyped up at the airport worried about bags and passport control and what do you know but it was a breeze.  It is a little bit intimidating to a little Iowa girl to have passport control be people in full Muslim garb and the women have their faces covered.  But the last two times through I have only been responded to indifferently, no grilling, no integration, just very matter of fact.

The pool below

I found a very happy Sri Lankan man to help me with my 170 lbs of luggage, which is about 76.5 kiloGRAMS, (I made that minor error on my last entry, thank you very much for those of you that had my back on that one.) we went up a little ramp with huge sliding doors and on the other side there were about 75 people awaiting my arrival.  Just kidding!  There were about 75 excited faces but only one of them was thrilled to see me.  I scanned the crowd and my eyes locked with my very handsome boyfriend.  There were some implications earlier on Facebook that there would be a special kiss when we reunited but this is a fairy tale UAE style where public displays of affection are very disrespectful and punishable, so instead there was a very loving side hug, so romantic, and my journey had begun.

We loaded my luggage into the car and got on our way.  (I arrived in Abu Dhabi and we live in Dubai, which is about an hour car ride.)  It was the most surreal moment of my life so far.  Here I am in very different land, so far from home, but with E by my side.  We have been waiting for this moment for a really long time.

A view at night

I have eased into life as well as any 11 hour time difference would allow.  The apartment that we live in is truly beautiful, it over looks Dubai Marina, the water is such a deep aqua, and there are swimming pools, palm trees, and incredible architecture.  The city is even more beautiful at night, its just all lit up.  One of my most vivid memories last time I was here was the insanity of traffic, but that seems to have calmed down a bit.  The conversion from Dirhams to Dollars has been somewhat of a challenge at the grocery store but each time it gets a bit easier.

So far much of it has been quite the blur as it already is day two of the work week, which is Sunday-Thursday, as Friday is the Holy day.  Next missions: move into this lovely apartment as all of my KGs are still stuffed in my luggage, and get a job!  Easy right?  One step at a time...