Turning 28

I honestly don't know where the time goes...

I feel like I was JUST turning 13 and my mom was surprising me with my first glimpse into true "adult" girlie-ness.... make-up!!  She had given me a little cosmetics bag filled with the prettiest shade of rose pink blush, a light pink lipstick, which was actually just an elegant shimmer on my teenage lips than a womanly red, and a black mascara for my long thick youthful lashes.  I can remember feeling so special and grown up that day.  

Who would have thought, 15 years later, I'm still feeling the same magic in my heart.

I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful friends, such a loving family, good health and a strong mind.  It's only by the grace of god am I living such a life.  And it is truly an honor for my spirit to be here in the mind and body...and I look forward to each new moment with so much love and kindness in my heart.

So happy 28th birthday indeed.

(by the way...that's 10,232 days, 20 hours, 15 mins and 40 seconds here on earth!  Well, with a little give depending on my exact birth time, haha!!)

Arabs are fun!

It's always heartbreaking to me when I read something negative towards Arabs or Muslims (or anyone for that matter).   But for the last decade it's been hugely anti-middle eastern in the western world.  Since 9/11 people have gone on an all out anti arab campaign:  we shouldn't be learning arabic in american schools, building mosques, celebrating anything arab related...they are all terrorists apparently.  What kind of forward thinking is that?

How can you punish an entire class for a couple idiots?  The "race" wasn't behind them...they didn't even support them...in fact they were even more upset with the events and being pulled into it than we can imagine.  It's a shame that this pattern follows every culture at some point in time or another.

People may be shocked to learn Arabs are A LOT like Americans...

"Much like America today, the Arab world of the seventh to the thirteenth centuries was a great cosmopolitan civilization. It was an enormous unifying enterprise, one which joined the peoples of Spain and North Africa in the west with the peoples of the ancient lands of Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia in the east.

It was the rapid expansion of Islam that initially brought this empire together. Alliances were made, trade routes were opened, lands and peoples were welded into a new force. Islam provided the dynamism, but it was the Arabic language, which provided the bond that held it together.

Islam spread to lands more distant than North Africa and the Fertile Crescent, but it was in this area that a common Arab culture emerged.

To be Arab, then as now, was not to come from a particular race or lineage. To be Arab, like American, was (and is) a civilization and a cultural trait rather than a racial mark. To be Arab meant to be from the Arabic-speaking world — a world of common traditions, customs and value — shaped by a single and unifying language.

The Arab civilization brought together Muslims, Christians and Jews. It unified Arabians, Africans, Berbers, Egyptians, and the descendants of the Phoenicians, Canaanites, and many other people. "

I appreciate the fact that underneath it all, we are all so similar.  We have hearts that love, smiles that can brighten anyones day and we are all connected.  

Maybe today we can share a little extra kindness :)

OH!  Here are a couple fun pictures from our weekend in Dubai and the actual point of my post being that Arabs are super FUN!!  (I fall into tangents from time to time)

Okku- Omar's birthday celebration #1

Manoushe breakfast at the Rifai's!

Sunset on the Persian Gulf

Such sweet boys! haha

Week of Sept 18th...

Here's just a few random happenings from this week:

Had lunch with our realtor Terri at an asian spot in the Marina Mall...we were starved after a morning of viewing apartments!

Skyped with my family in TN (6pm my time, 9 am theirs)...that's my niece Mieka with her basket crown, haha!

Washed a load of clothes in the washer/dryer duo in our hotel room and melted Joey's shoes down a size :(

Got a mani/pedi for 100 dirhams ($36.50...not too bad!)

Setting up a Network

Once you get to a new place, it's super important to start setting up your network.  Network of people who know about the city, network of friends of friends, network of women (special interest groups), network of work opportunities...etc, etc, etc.  This takes LOTS of energy, mental strength and stamina!  Seriously, it's like a full time job just settling into a place and meeting people.  You really have to truly love it...or LEARN to love it.

I was the later.

Usually you have a job when you move to a new place so you're already arriving with a built in network. You're work environment somehow builds into a full fledged life network without you having to really even think about it.  If only it were always so easy!

DC was my first challenge with this.  It was like the warm up before the sprint.  I had to work extra hard to meet people.  Go outside my comfort zone and actually talk to the person next to me enjoying there coffee at Dolcezza...or spend a little extra time talking to the girls signing me in for yoga class.  People interactions are really something to cherish and so many times we take those little moments for granted.

But if that's the only "friend"-ly interactions you have in a new city, they are seriously very precious.  I found myself gravitating to those moments.  Anything to feel less lonely and overwhelmed.

So, yeah...here I am again.

This time around, though, something feels a little different.  Like I'm not totally alone.  Well, thanks to already being here visiting a year and a half ago and making a couple of friends, it feels like coming back to something familiar.  Plus, Sara and Omar are just an hour away, so the network of friends is quite large in comparison!  We're truly grateful for that.

I think once you have the friend network squared away, the work and others will follow.  You just have to keep getting out there, meeting people and drinking lots of coffee!

Finding a Reasonable Apartment

Nothing is really reasonable here...it's all crazy expensive, but the good thing is, it all seems to even out somehow.  Thank goodness!  But for finding a place, it can really be a fun journey because everything here revolves around the newest and most luxurious.  

However, this was the list of credentials Joey and I had for a place:

2 Bedroom
Nice View (maybe a balcony)
Gym/Pool
Parking
Appliances a perk

And I think they were in exactly this order!  Haha, we're easy enough!  Our realtor Terri, who we met after moving here through our friend Diane, was just phenomenal at finding our perfect place!  She brought us into the luxurious, but "reasonable for us" world of Abu Dhabi.  And what a beautiful and imaginative world it is!  After a day of hunting, here's where we'll HOPEFULLY be living come December:


"After several years of planning and design, 2006 was a special year for His Highness Sheikh Suroor Bin Mohammed Al Nahyan and his Projects Department, for this was when construction work got underway. His Highness can be proud of succeeding in creating a very inspirational, prestigious and desirable landmark in the UAE. The scope, magnitude and uniqueness is breathtaking.

The Australian architects DBI Design have created a sculptural feat that is a true landmark of the City. Changing the Abu Dhabi skyline forever the towers offer the most amazing vantage points - with sweeping panoramic views over the vibrant city and Arabian Sea."


Now, it doesn't look EXACTLY like the picture because the water doesn't come that close...and the towers are more of the same size and in a circular formation...but yeah, this is it.  Doesn't it remind you of a star trek space ship?? 


See, I bet now you'll want to come visit!!  

Abdulah joins the family!

Friends really do turn a place into a home.

On Saturday Omar and Sara drove in from Dubai and met us at the Shangri-La ( http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/abudhabi/shangrila/dining) for a nice long brunch.  With the amount of food available, it has to be a nice, LONG brunch!!  Omar's cousin Creamy and another friend Anwar joined us as well.  We gathered around a table in the corner and really enjoyed the WHOLE afternoon.  See, that's one of the good things about other countries, they're not rushing you in and out, you simply get to relax and take your time...no rushing :)  And let me tell you, it helps for the digestion!  I think we ate a little of everything...indian, sushi, veggies, hot pot soup, fruit, chinese, chocolate mousse, etc, etc, etc...whew!  And a word to the wise, proceed with caution and go in with a plan!

Oh, AND as a welcome to the middle east, Sara gifted me little Abdulah.  I'm fairly certain he'll make his way into most every location picture! haha  Keep a watch for him in future postings from the UAE!!

Ma'a as-salaama!              مع السلامة

Our First Weekend

Since the weekday starts on Sunday here, everyone is off on Friday (prayer day) and Saturday.  Ask anyone and they'll tell you the same thing...Thursday night's are the busiest night of the week!  EVERYONE is OUT!!  Restaurants are booked, club music is bumping and there's a electrifying energy in the air!

So to keep in tune with the locals, Joey and I met our friend Nadine (whom I met last time we were here...she went to school in Riyadh with Pam and Joey) and her husband Wassam (who also went to school in Riyadh, but was a few years older) for dinner.  Indian fare is always a good idea in Abu Dhabi, so we opted for Indigo, just one of the 5 amazing restaurants at the Beach Rotana.  So authentic and delicious!

An ubber tired Joey and I waited for our dinner guests in the main lobby of the Rotana.  This is honestly one of my favorite spots.  The room is HUGE and divided up into circular layers.  The inner core houses cushiony chairs and couches, little tables and even a piano, in which every night at 7pm two sisters come to elegantly entertain.  The outer core is filled with about 12 sets of chairs facing each other separated by a little table.  Then the mantle layer offers walkway space and then a crust of full size tables and four chairs. At any given moment there may be 16 or more countries represented in these layers!

As soon as we saw Nadine and Wassam we jumped up in excitement.  It had been a year and a half since we last saw her and we were always eager to meet Wassam.  (He was on a project in Saudi at the time.)  As we were greeting each other, Wassam realized he knew Joey!  And as it turned out, they had so many connections from their childhood and even from their adult life.  What a small world.

The next few hours were the most relaxing, uplifting and fun...there's nothing like good conversation and dinner with friends!

Friday (saturday in the states) was spent sleeping in, a yummy little breakfast of fruit and muesli in our lobby, me teaching myself and Joey a thorough hour and a half yoga lesson, reading by the pool, swimming, swinging by the co-operative market for a few things (detergent, labneh, milk, tomatoes, cucumbers, peanut butter and nutella), then freshening up before taking a nice long drive through and around town.  Oh, and we also stopped for shawarma...our dinner!  haha  It's honestly the best little pita wrapped sandwich.  And SO cheap!  You navigate your way through a parking lot to a little whole in the wall spot...you don't get out, no, no, there are guys that will come up to your car and take your order!  Then you circle around and when you come back, you're food is ready and being run over by another guy.  Talk about a drive through!  I'll take pictures next time!!!

Saturday.

Keep you posted!!  We're off to meet Sara and Omar now at the Shangri-La.

Coffee is Coffee Anywhere

Today's adventure started with me accompanying Joey to work...well, not really to his work, but the general vicinity!  We woke up at 7am (still in need of a full 8 hour night's sleep fyi!), showered, dressed, had a little breakfast in our hotel's lobby (the service here at the beach rotana can spoil you rotten!!), hopped in a cab, then arrived in the north west area of Abu Dhabi, called Mamoura.

Joey went to work, then I went for a little stroll around.  This region, like most of Abu Dhabi is under major construction.  Lots of cranes.  It's a little more spread out here too, which made my walk rather short.  Well, that, and the fact that it's not really a pedestrian friendly city.  They have sidewalks, but they kinda end abruptly where it doesn't make sense, then offer no crosswalks.  Which is dangerous as there's a very bat out of hell driving mentality.  Mind you they're pretty good drivers, but not very watchful of anyone on foot.  They just expect for you to watch for them as they drive like maniacs.  Always on the offensive.

After my leisurely stroll I decided to pop into a little coffee shop nearby.

Iced Mocha.  Yum.

This was a perfect spot to sit, enjoy a coffee, and people watch.  The diversity of culture here (atleast at this particular location) was really amazing.  So many expats.  Since the building with the coffee shop houses a bunch of temporary foreign businesses and also the emirati nuclear energy dept as well as other local MAJOR businesses, this was an excellent pick for my first official outing.  So many well dressed professionals.  From the suits to the abayas to the thawb.  It was really beautiful to experience.

The abaya is most common in countries with large Salafi Muslim populations, as the entire body, including face and hands are considered elements of the awrah- that which should be concealed in public from males unrelated by blood or marriage.

"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters, and the women of the faithful, to draw their wraps over them. They will thus be recognised and no harm will come to them. God is forgiving and kind."

The thawb is the traditional Arab dress for men. It is sometimes spelled thobe or thaub. It is a tunic, generally long. The word is used specifically for this garment in Arab states of the Persian Gulf. There has been some debate regarding the correct length of the thawb. Shorter length represents modesty, while longer represents royalty, status and wealth.

It's amazing how normal it all feels.  While the coffee started out as the only thing familiar to me, the rest seemed to find it's place.  

Cell Phones and Sweet Tea

As a southerner, I ascertain the sweetness that is sweet tea.

I can remember my grandmother filling her old pot halfway with tap water, placing it carefully on the stove, then waiting as it began to boil.  And be sure, it's a known fact that a watch pot never boils...I've found myself testing this MANY times!  Once those rapid bubbles start popping to the surface, she would add four luzianne tea bags, remove from the eye, cover and steep to just the right flavor.  When it was perfect, she would remove the bags and stir in her preference of sugar, then pour into her pitcher for the fridge.   Btw, warm sweet tea over ice is the BEST!!

Now who would have thought I would find that same magic of southern delicacy on the dessert peninsula of Abu Dhabi.

After waiting in yet another line for the third day in a row to purchase sim cards for our existing cell phones (on the first attempt Sunday night, Etisalat's computer system was down, the second night they only had one sim card and we needed two...) I could see the light.  Since both lines were long, I placed myself in the line with the kind faced girl.  I figured I might as well increase my odds of success with someone who looks compassionate!  It's funny how your internal feelings really aid in the magic of life.

While in line I met a really nice man from Poland.  He's here with a team working on a new luxury hotel on a nearby island.  We spoke about that and also his visit to the states.  Believe it or not, his one and only experience was to South Dakota during winter!  He was really sweet and told of how beautiful and blue the sky looked at night as it reflected from the hip deep white snow.  I recommended he visit Nashville and he recommended I visit Wroclaw.  I think I'm definitely going to have to do that now after talking to him...such a kind hearted person.

Now, I find myself standing in front of the kind faced girl discussing phone options.  And just as I expected she was incredibly kind and patient.  She explained everything clearly and helped me decide on the best phone plan (pay as you go, talk, bbm and text).  We were set.

Then, while I filling in the rest of the paperwork, a guy walks up and starts chatting with the girl, pays his bill and continues to tease her about working and that she'll get a bunch of Chinese customers today.  (apparently they are the worst here, lol)  Soon they pulled me into their world and I found myself laughing right along with them.

This was my first experience with younger locals...and I was pleasantly surprised with how refreshing and effortless it was!

The guy then went to get the girl a sweet tea and offered to bring me one.  I declined at first, but then with his persistence and her recommendation of getting a peach sweet tea I accepted.  Before I knew it we were enjoying our sweet teas together as new friends.

What a pleasant morning.

Travel Time

There's something strange about staying up two full days....

Well, not sure if it were ACTUALLY two full days, but it did feel like it. Then the jet lag sets in. I think it actually starts while you're still in flight. Your mind knows something's different and it struggles to find the normalcy and readjust itself.

Friday, September 9th

Our flying out day got off to quite an alarming start. After moving all our furniture and belongings into storage on Thursday we stayed at the Park Hyatt in Foggy Bottom. The hotel is immaculate! Incredibly beautiful, simple design, friendly staff, delicious food and then, of course, the most cushiony comfortable bed! Joey and I were both really looking forward to a lovely night's sleep. Especially since we hadn't had a full one in weeks! We needed it.

Then, all of the sudden my deep slumber was interrupted by some sort of screeching and bright flashing light. I felt like I had only been asleep for about an hour. Angry I mumbled something profain as Joey came to next to me. In our true get up and go style we threw on the park hyatt white fluffy robes, slippers and swiftly evacuated the building. As it turned out it was already 6:45am and everyone else, mostly businessmen, were up and at 'em. There we stood in the midst of the suits in our white fluffy robes. Good morning DC.

After about 20 mins all was clear and we were able to return to our rooms. The rest of the rainy morning was spent getting in a last intense yoga class for me at down dog and run for Joey, running final dc errands, freshening up, then meeting Hannah and Lara at the tea bar in our lobby. I love spending moments with friends who simply uplift you. They are truly a breath of fresh air.

Now off to the airport.

Our last hurdle was to make sure all was well with our excess luggage. Go figure! It's really hard to pack the essentials of your life into just a few bags. Needless to say our essentials, once packed to the max, was HEAVY! Luckily the company takes care of the fees...what a blessing!

DC to London - not a bad flight. We had planned to sleep on this leg to help with the jet lag, but after eating some dark chocolate right after boarding, I was wired! I watched "Something Borrowed" and "X-Men", then did some magazine reading and watched Joey as he slept. Haha

London layover - 3 hours to kill. We wandered the airport, then sat and had a little breakfast. Hot chocolate, orange juice, egg/bacon/cheese croissant, and museli...not sure if this is very english, but it was yummy! After an hour nap, we were boarding british airlines again.

London to Abu Dhabi - this one felt long. We slept a little, watched some movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, read, then slept some more. Arrived in Abu Dhabi at 7:15pm.

The Beach Rotana is the best! They really are so kind here and will do anything they can to make sure you feel welcome...even leaving a HUGE basket of food and goodies in your suite upon arrival! We made a little dinner on the fruit and cheese before taking hot baths and hoping into bed. I could barely keep my eyes open, while Joey prepped for his upcoming day at work. The bed was so comfortable. Dreamtime.

Moving is Stressful!

I've contemplated creating a blog so many times before, but the timing never seemed right or we were going about 100 miles per minute with life happenings... how does that always seem to happen anyways??

Then today came.

That's when I found myself waiting alone for about an hour and a half in our boxed up apartment. No music, no television. Silence. Only my computer and a wee internet connection to keep me breezing through our moving "to do" list. Kinda figured this was as good of time as any to jump start my blog. So here it is!

If they could only invent time travel, then moving would be a breeze. But alas...it's not. I've spent so many hours these last couple weeks trying to figure out the items that "I can't live without" and must take in our checked luggage when we fly out tomorrow. These items will be with us from now until December when hopefully we get our residency visas and find a place. Things like my favorite clothes, shoes, yoga mat, the comfortable underwear, yoga teaching books, toothpaste, gluten free oatmeal...etc, etc. Lol, okay the oatmeal was an impulse buy because I'm pretty sure they won't have it in Abu Dhabi! (and also our brand of toothpaste, razors, shampoo...so we had to stock up.)

Now we're sitting on the floor plowing through the remainder of our to do list and trying our hardest to think of anything we might be missing while the movers finish up. So tired.

And the movers are off. Just finished cleaning our apartment and Joey loaded our friend Kesh's car up with all of our "need to get rid of things". So annoying how much money is wasted when you move. All those cleaning supplies and food. Well, atleast we found a good home for them. Sweet Kesh.

Okay, now off to the hotel and hopefully dinner and a movie tonight to decompress.

Cheers friends!

Jen