Walking onto the Dubai metro for the first time I noticed that something was different. Something was missing. It was the familiar smell of the London Underground (or "tube") - a combination of sweat, urine, vomit and decade-old mustiness. It was a smell that I had grown accustomed to and almost fond of during my daily commute into London. This metro was different. It was clean, bright and punctual.

Waiting for my train to arrive I braced myself for the "rush hour squeeze" or throwing yourself onto an overcrowded train - arms, elbows, and fellow passengers' hair in your face. It was perfect for Dubai since they have no idea of personal space. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when the train pulled in. I had heard that Dubai metro cars had "Women & Children Only" sections. Think what you might, but sexist my ass. There is nothing nicer, especially here, than being able to avoid the ogling eyes from the nose-pickers in the male cars. No matter how covered up you might be, the stares are inevitable.

  

I walked effortlessly onto the busy, although uncrowded, "women only" car. Aside from the periodically antsy toddler, the ride was calm and quiet. It was a nice change from the hectic drives and the manic taxi rides.

Walking home across the dirt lots, my feet getting covered in dust and my heals sinking into the sand, I thought about my previous London commute. At least my feet are dry (there is nothing worse than rainy wet shoes) and the inside of my nose isn't black from the London Tube pollution (those who have frequented the Tube know this all to well).

All in all I'd say that riding the metro here is a great and cheap way to get around Dubai. It goes through most of Dubai and they are constantly expanding it. Trains are frequent (every 2-3 minutes) and they stop at most of the popular destinations. My single trip cost me 5 dirhams (=£1 or 1.25 dollars) for a 30 minute journey. They also have travel cards available that you can top up with money when needed (like a London Oyster card). I don't think I will ride it on a daily basis but it's definitely a great option!

Getting a job

I have to count myself either very blessed or very lucky. After enjoying a month of travelling to my two "homes" and enjoying some much needed time away from Dubai, I decided it was time I got off my lazy ass and got a job. The life of leisure was nice but my brain was starting to turn to mush. One Tuesday morning after my husband had left for work I decided to turn into a job-hunting fiend. Unfortunately, my life of leisure and spacey mind got in the way and I found myself running errands instead. I was determined, though, to get at least 5 CVs/resumes out that day.

Once I returned from my shopping spree (getting our Christmas turkey) I noticed a missed call from an unknown number on my phone. Seeing as how I don't have voicemail with my pay-as-you-go phone I decided if it was that important they would call back. Sure enough, five minutes later I had a woman on the line asking me to come interview for a position I had applied for weeks prior.

"When would you like me to come in?" I asked, thinking that tomorrow I could probably pry myself away from the pool for at least an hour.

"I know it's short notice but could you possibly make it in today? We close at 5:30pm so just come when you can."

Looking at the 2:15pm flashing on my kitchen clock I blurted "Sure, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Luckily I had decided to make myself look nice for the store earlier so my makeup was done. I threw on a dress, worked some magic on my hair and rushed out the door to grab a cab.

I sat nervously in the cab trying to Google what exactly this company did and thinking through my answers to some common interview questions. My cab driver, on the other hand, had other plans for me. The older gentleman sat chatting away at me, asking about my day, asking about my family (Was I married? Any kids? Where was I from? Etc.) When I told him I was having a good but nervous day because of my job interview he was very sweet and gave me encouragement. I asked about his family and how often he gets to go home to Pakistan to see them. It was a very nice and calming journey which is a rarity for Dubai taxis.

When we arrived, I told him he had calmed me for my interview and he said, "Insha'Allah (God willing in Arabic) you will get this job!"

"Choukrane! (Thank you)," I said as I tipped him and walked through the doors of the Fairmont Hotel. I do believe the entire event was in God's will, including having him as my taxi driver.

My interview was quick, to the point, and pretty much met all of my requirements for a job: part-time, afternoons, good pay, great holiday time, and nice colleagues. I left feeling invigorated, excited and happy.

The woman phoned that evening and offered me the job to start the following Sunday. I just couldn't believe how quickly it all happened. I guess that's just Dubai.

Location:Dubai

Horror Hospital aka Getting my Residence Visa

Today I got to see the other side of Dubai many people don't talk about. What an experience, is all I can say. To set the background, I was going through the process of getting my visa paperwork finished today. A right of passage for every resident of Dubai is to get a blood test and chest x-ray done by the government. The purpose of this is to test all residents for HIV and TB. First answer to the questiong already in your heads, YES you have to use the government hospital for this. Which is basically where this story takes place...

Luckily my husband had gone through the process a few weeks before so he had an idea of what we had to do, although his company got him to the front of the lines when he went so we had a huge learning curve. H's company advised us to have H dress in his uniform when we went, that way we might get priority and extra assistance. Is this fair? No, probably not, but if in the same situation, you would do the same.

We took a cab to the hospital. Its location was near the workers living accomodations. I think this area was the closest thing to the ghetto that Dubai has. I noticed that every building was owned by a company in Dubai; from hotel chains, to airlines and construction companies. Looking out the window I saw men dressed in their native clothing, a nice change from seeing them always in their company uniforms and jumpsuits. The area was very desolate, though, with very few amenities around. Although not shocking, it was very sad to see.

We entered the hospital and it was mayhem. Hundreds of people were crowded in the halls and waiting areas. The smell was not that of any hospital I had ever been in. Even though I had dressed ultra-conservatively I could feel the eyes of hundreds of men eyeing me. We found a security guard who pointed us in the direction of the "phlebotomy" section and yelled "Go register!" Register? What does that mean? We looked at each other in confusion when a man came up to my husband and ushered us to a desk. The man seemed as though he worked at the hospital. He took my documents and my passport and told us to take a seat. Not knowing whether we were being helped or being robbed we decided to have faith in the short Arab man, although we kept a glued eye on my passport. After about 10 minutes of the man pushing his way to the front of the "line" (I say line but it was more of a mob) and us joking that he probably didn't even work at the hospital, he returned with my documents and took us to the waiting area for the blood tests. To be fare, I don't think he actually pulled any strings for us, but we didn't have to brave the mob...that time.

After waiting for about 20 minutes my number was called to have my blood drawn. I entered the room where a few other women were sitting waiting for their number to be called. It was a great place to people watch, getting to see so many different types of people and from such diverse backgrounds. I felt an odd connection to these people, knowing we were all going through the same process for the same reason. My number was called after a couple of minutes and I entered the white lab room. The nurse had difficulty finding a good vein. After painfully prodding around my right arm veins, she decided to move to my left arm. "You have great veins," she said, "but they don't want to give me any blood!" Fantastic, I thought with dread. She continued to poke around my left arm veins and after finding "no blood" there either, she decided to try one more place on my left arm. Just as I felt horrified enough, another nurse came over and started discussing my veins, in Urdu, with the first nurse. They then proceeded to stick the needle in, while the second nurse grabbed my upper arm just above my elbow, and "pumped" my blood for me. I have never had a nurse squeeze my arm to get blood out! She removed the needle and as I looked down I saw a large lump above the needle point. Feeling slightly woozy from the experience they said "OK, all done. Go now." Ok, if I pass out in the hall or have a blood clot, it's on you lady!

(I must add, my husband found out how they actually test these samples they receive. Get ready to be disgusted. Apparently the get a group of samples and mix them together. If the results come back positive, everyone in the group gets a letter telling them they have HIV! You are then instructed to go back and get a new test. It happened to a few of H's colleagues and they were terrified and horrified when they discovered this.)

The rest of the appointment wasn't too crazy for me. I had to go to the x-ray department after my blood test. After sitting for a few minutes next to H, a security guard came over and yelled at everyone. Apparently the waiting area was divided into male and female sections and there were no exceptions. I luckily sat next to an Indian woman and her adorable 2 year old son. Funny enough, peek-a-boo is the same in every language. I was finally called in to get my chest x-ray done, but when I turned my documents into the woman she informed I was not registerd for the x-ray. Our friend had apparently skipped this part of the process. I ended up having to run out of the room and ask the "reception" (man at a small table outside of the x-ray room) where to go. He pointed me to the main reception, or madhouse, so I attempted to get any info I could out of the security guards there. Luckily they directed me to a desk where the man generously registered me quickly. After that I got my X-Ray done. (One funny thing I noticed was on my medical form. They instructed us to write in big letters "I confirm that I am not pregnant" instead of just ticking a box.)

Poor H had an even more interesting and frustrating experience than me. Due to the fact that he was in uniform, people were under the impression that he was staff or security. He was constantly hounded with questions of "What do I do now?" "Where is this building?" "Where do I go now?" "What does this mean?" Then once those questions started, workers were hounding him for jobs with his company.
"We are friends now, yes? You write me letter to get me a job? Yes! We are good friends and they will give me a job!" Unfortunately politeness didn't get him very far and he had to get a bit angry with them. One man even went to the extreme of waiting outside for us to leave and asked Zav for a picture of the two of them to send to the company. It's terribly sad and trying to explain to them that we couldn't do anything to help was heartbreaking and frustrating. That is something that is hard to deal with here. Every taxi driver has a sad story to tell as do the workers. We wish we could help all of them but there are just too many. We just try to tip them extra.

Anyways, that was my experience getting my medical check done for my visa. Good luck to those about to attempt this process!!

Arrival

I arrived at my final destination (no more trips back and forth for a while) on June 27 early in the morning. I can tell you that time seems to be flying so quickly here, not only in the weekly timespan but also during my day. I swear I wake up, do a few things, run a few errands and BAM, its 6:00pm! I honestly don't know where the hours go. At least this is a good thing because it means I'm staying busy and not just sitting around being bored all the time, (like I did when we were living in Scotland..Yuck). I have realized a few things now after being here.
1) You need a car. Period. Yes, they have cabs and for the most part they are reasonable, safe, and get you where you need to go. One downside, I'd say, is shopping. Especially if you are furnishing a house. By the time you get to the mall, walked around, bought an ironing board and a computer printer (this story may be from experience..) you are done! Usually I would place the larger items in my car and continue to walk around and shop. Instead you are stuck looking for a cab large enough to fit your items and going back home. It's exhausting.
2) Dubai has no addresses. Nope, not a one. So explaining that you live opposite the Subway restaurant, near a certain hotel, on the left side of the road and that it's a tall building isn't very helpful. Luckily most delivery men can find it, eventually. The other problem is cabs. The other day we wanted to go to Ace Hardware on Sheik Al Zayed Road (the main road through Dubai). We eventually found it but due to the nature of SAZ Road (a huge freeway), we had to go a very scenic route back to where we actually needed to get. What does this equal? Frustration and large cab fares.
3) Language is fun! (sarcasm anyone?) Okay, so with a lot of patience and talking much slower and using smaller words you can get things understood and accomplished. A huge problem is understanding when ESL speakers are talking. I truly admire them. Can I speak Arabic or Urdu? Not a chance. The closest I have is "Would you like a cup of tea?" or "Thank you". It is definitely something I need to brush up on. The phone calls are the most frustrating for sure.
4) There are no manners, at least to Western standards. There are no lines/queues. I have many times been waiting in line at a store, cafe, etc. and someone walks right in front of me to the register. Aside from making a huge fuss (which isn't my style) or giving a glaring look (that's me) there really isn't anything you can do. So I have just started pushing to the front as well. If you can't beat them, join them! Another thing is personal space and slow walkers. People will stand closer to me than my husband does! If I subtly push back on them they don't seem to mind in the slightest. The other thing I've noticed is that the locals walk SLOW. I think I saw an expat woman with a walker moving faster than them. Plus, since they usually travel in groups, they block entire pathways! Very frustrating indeed.

In spite of the frustrating aspects of life in Dubai, this place is amazing to live in. The sun is constantly shining, the people are friendly, and there is a real ambience in this country. I love the family aspect of the culture. The Muslim week runs Sunday to Thursday, with Friday being our version of Sunday and Saturday being equal to ours. The locals take Friday very seriously, making sure that the entire day is spent with family. I am noting many truths about the taboos many of us believe about the Middle East and I hope to make the truth more well known.

Cultural Differences and the 3 Question Rule

H has been in Dubai all alone now since I returned to the UK. He has had to battle day in and day out to get things accomplished. He has been telling me of a few of the "quirks" and difficulties he has been dealing with:

-Giving a "thumbs-up" to an Iranian is like giving them the finger...oops! Just don't do it! Maybe try the "AOK" hand gesture instead...

-The 3 Question Rule: H has said that people will fight you until you pretty much demand something at least three times.
Example: Our internet was supposed to be installed early Saturday morning (9-10am). The company promised they would be there between that time and even gave H their personal number to call if there was a problem. So he gets a call at 9:45am on Saturday saying "Sir, we will come this afternoon."
"No, you are supposed to be here in 15 minutes." 
"Not possible sir, I am on the opposite side of Dubai. I will be there at 4pm"
"No, you have to be here this morning. Your company ensured me that it would be this morning."
"NO! Sir its not possible. I cannot be there now."
"No you need to come here this morning!"
"Okay sir, I will be there in 10 minutes..."
Haha! And the man was there in 10 minutes. So it was possible, he just didn't want to do it. Basically they will try to take advantage of you. You have to put your foot down, otherwise they will walk all over you. I think this will be difficult for me because I will always try to be polite. Which brings me to my next point: Taxi drivers...

-Taxis: We were always under the impression that the taxi drivers were pretty honorable, which is rare. Our tour guide a few years ago told us that they can't screw you or over charge you because if you complain they can lose their license to work. Now we are realizing you have to be careful with them. Some of H's colleagues have been in taxis where the journey is short but since they have been there for a while they know the way. Then the drivers seem to go a long way because they assume you have no idea and they want a larger fare. So now H has to say "Look, I'm a local, I know the way. So go the SHORTEST way possible." Sometimes they get annoyed but you have to make sure they don't "take you for a ride" (forgive the pun). H is a very generous tipper and very patient in these situations but even he is getting annoyed with some of the attitude they are giving.

Anyways, the plan is for me to return to the sand next week for good. I just got my visa today so I just need to finish up work and then I'm a permanent resident. I'm sure more stories will be coming soon!

**I've been corrected by H..Its not the Arabs who are offended by thumbs up, its the Iranians. And to all my lovely Americans out there, no they are not the same thing.  ;)

Money makes the world go round

Post-dated June 5, 2011 (I'm catching up from being away and writing without internet):

Hubby (who I'll refer to as 'H' from now on) and I moved in to our place this weekend (finally!!). When moving here a good thing to remember or note is this: money makes this place go 'round! An unnamed but quite large and popular furniture store from around the world gave us a delivery date of June 7. We needed to be moved in by June 1...so a trek across town and some monetary persuasion later, "Yes sir, we will deliver tonight!" If only we'd known this days earlier. Basically the delivery guys have a side job delivering furniture after hours. Deal! At this point we were desperate!! So they came and brought us our couch, desk and bedframe. That night we slept on the couch since our mattress was coming on Saturday morning. It came and my last night in Dubai we got to sleep in our new bed! We are still waiting for our cargo, though. Hopefully that will come soon.

Delivery Drama

Well, hopefully not entirely the appropriate title for this post but possibly!
Thankfully our kitchen appliances were delivered more or less on time. (Our oven was a day later than first expected but they did show up between the 3pm-5pm time quote so I can't complain.) Hubby's company told him to not be surprised if sometimes the deliveries say 5pm and they show up at 10pm or don't even show at all. I spoke to a girl yesterday whose bed was lost in the 2 hours of moving from one building to another. So I am preparing myself for this possibility. Enter cargo delivery...
I think with the craziness of arriving and shopping and him starting work, I haven't realized how quickly time is going. We have now been here 5 days. Which made me start thinking, Where's our cargo? Due to the large load of boxes we sent we decided to have a company clear it through customs for us and deliver it to our apartment. Pretty standard stuff here, especially since hubby's company recommended them (plus we dont have a car). Before we sent our cargo, the form we signed stated that if you don't clear your cargo after 5 days you start accruing penalties. So yesterday, day 4, hubby calls the company. Mr Cargo knows nothing of us, even though we've been cc'd on an email directly to him from our company. So after a lot of patience and pursuasion, he tells us he'll look into it. Now, here we are, start of day 5, and no word. Am preparing to call them in a few minutes. To be continued....
Now, Ikea... We spent, let's say, waaayyy too much in Ikea. We ordered our couch, bed frame, desk, entertainment center and a few other things from them. They told us 7-10 days... But we have NO place to sit in our place! Most of the guys in hubby's training group have gotten their things delivered in 2 days! Now, I understand that part of our entertainment center was out of stock but they want to deliver everything together! So we have to wait for the in-stock things now too. I'm going to try and call the get some delivered sooner. The language barrier is definitely making things a little difficult, especially over the phone. Wish me luck! Will keep you posted.

We're here!!

We have made it here finally! It has been two of the most stressful months of my life (aside from wedding prep). Two months of moving, packing, sorting, cleaning, packing, packing, did I mention packing? If I have to see another cardboard box or roll of tape again I may have a fit. Hubby and I have never been so snippy and short and frustrated with each other in our whole marriage. It has been an interesting experience.

Thursday- We dropped off our cargo load (all 200 kgs of it) to Heathrow airport which was both a huge relief and also a huge panic. What had I forgotten? Did I pack something wrong? Will it get there? Will it all break? Will they open it in Customs and decide it's forbidden and destroy it? Oops, too late, it's on the loading dock...



**my mother-in-law helping us pack and load...thankful for her!

Friday- Our flight left London in the early morning and we arrived in Dubai around 18:30/6:30pm. Hubby got to experience a little bit of what life has in store for us from now on...Business class! Gotta love the company tickets! Me, I got to ride with the "regular Joes"....(he felt terrible leaving me in economy and saved me some Godiva chocolates for when we landed..) I did meet a really nice cabin crew member who sat next to me so we talked and exchanged numbers. Maybe a new friend??
We were then greeted at the gate by a member of staff who ushered us through immigration and customs first, got our bags, got us our welcome pack from the company, then got us a private car to our hotel. It was amazing! Then we checked in and went to Festival City for dinner and to walk around Ikea to get furnishing ideas.

Saturday-Went to see our new home. Incredible. So much bigger compared to our last place! This made us want to furnish it immediately. So we went to Mall of the Emirates and found all our electric appliances for a slamming deal (we think...) It was an exhausting but productive day.

Sunday (today)- The goal was to get the main household items for the house ordered by the end of today. So after 2 days, 3 different malls, countless different stores, 28,000 dirhams, and 2 exhausted expatriates later....Goal Achieved!! The company gave us a 30k dirham allowance to furnish the place. With this we got: a fridge, washer and dryer, stove/oven (all matching and good brands), dining table with 6 chairs, memory foam mattress, bed frame, entertainment center, couch, desk and chair, microwave, plus a few small items. We are proud of ourselves! Many people warned us it couldn't be done. It has helped that we have packed a lot of the smaller things we need. We have 2k dhs left, so we can buy some smaller stuff and we will probably need to dip into our pockets a bit to finish but not as badly as we planned for! But now we are exhausted!! And sick to death of Ikea...

Tomorrow-Hubby's first day of work! Very exciting. My plan is to finally enjoy this weather and lounge by the pool in the morning, then go meet the delivery crew for our electrics!!!

This is it for now..Much love and thankfulness.



Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Dubai

Dreams of Moving!

We are officially moved out of our flat and are in our temporary accomodation, or as I call it, Hotel In-Laws!
I think our move wasn't as organized as I had originally planned. The original plan was to have mostly everything organized and packed into boxes ready to ship to Dubai, even though we aren't leaving for a few more weeks. I spent a few days sorting and packing and cleaning. I ran out of boxes. I got emotional. I got exhausted. I got sick of bubble wrap, tape, and cardboard. By the time moving day actually arrived I had the kitchen almost fully packed up, but not everything. I had a lot of decorations/knick-knacks packed. I had the books and DVDs we plan to take packed, but that's about it. So Saturday morning came and it was manic! We ended up throwing a lot of stuff into black garbage bags to sort through later. But we did it and finally left our "home" around 8:00pm, only 13 hours after we started!

Now I have been haunted by crazy stressful moving-day dreams! Last night I dreamt that we were still moving furniture out on the day the new tenants were supposed to move in. And the only mode of transportation was our tiny car. So we start throwing boxes and bags into this car and I look over and see our bed, still fully assembled, obviously needing to be packed. I ask my husband "How are we supposed to get that in the car!" to which he responds "NO worries! It will fit!" Then the new tenants arrive, say rude and racist things to us, then I wake up...No wonder I feel exhausted today. But the overwhelming feeling in the dream was "OH MY GOD! Where is everything? I need to pack it right!" So I think my mind it telling me that this weekend will consist of me sorting through all of the black bags of wonder to find all of my stuff!!

21 Days!!!

Packing Packing Packing

You would think that after my first emmigrating experience it would be much easier to pack...It is so difficult to pack up a house, trying to work out what to bring and what not to bring! I think it would be much easier if we knew what our place was going to look like. When we went out in February they gave us a tour of one of the many buildings we might be in but thats it! Luckily I do know that wherever we will be there will be LOADS of space, unlike here in the UK. So this weekend was packing/cleaning weekend. The plan is to move out of our flat this coming weekend and into hubby's parents house for the last month we are here. Saves us money and gives us more time to organize and pack.
This past weekend I started the sorting process: one pile for keeping/bringing with, one pile for giving away/selling, one for throwing away, one for his parents to keep. It's been hard to wrap my head around. For the most part its been easy to decide what we are bringing and not, but there are things that are difficult to know. I have to keep reminding myself that we have a good shipping allowance!! Thankfully!
The other big decision we made was a sad one. We decided to leave our cat here. We did ask the company to put us in a pet-friendly apartment but after a lot of thinking we decided it was not fair for the cat. He loves going outside and it would be cruel to keep him locked up in a high-rise apartment. We are going to re-think it once we are in a villa hopefully in a few years (if all goes well!)
Wish us good luck! Moving day is April 29!

Highs and lows

A big part of any decision is the roller coaster of emotions you go through:
Is this the right decision?
I can't wait!
What was I thinking?!
This is going to be the Best decision of my life!!
How do I get out of this?!

We've definitely been having our mis-givings followed by the insane urge to start packing at 11pm. I even had a weekend where the enormity of the decision hit me like a brick and I was in a fuzzy haze for 72 hours..not sad, not angry, just deep in thought. But luckily I snapped out of it and things got exciting again! As I said, it's a very weird feeling and both of us have had and still have our highs and lows.
I personally go from "wow there are so many new opportunities out there, it's like a fresh start!" to "yep, I'm definitely not going to be able to find a job and this will suck"...Thinking positively is the hard part for sure. The second I hear a horror story I put myself in the situation. Sure, I'm not a Malaysian prostitute/house cleaner that got caught and thrown in prison..."but what if it happens to me?!" Got to love the brain and it's complexities!

Basically, keep thinking positive thoughts, but also be prepared when you get the shock that it's not exactly how you thought it would be.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Few FAQs...

I understand that for a good many of people, this news has been a bit of a shock. "You are moving to the Middle East?!?" followed by concerned gazes or looks of "you idiot!" I get that unless you have been to Dubai or have heard a lot about it then yes, it is a scary concept, especially for us Westerners! But believe me when I say we have put a LOT of thought, research and prayer into this decision. So I thought my next post should be the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions and comments we've been getting...

1.)  Are you going to have to cover up and wear a burqa??

    NO. While is it respectful to cover up your shoulders (t-shirts) and down to your knees in the more conservative areas, Dubai is full of westerners wearing their normal attire. It is a touristy place where people wear what they want. Yes, there are people from the US and UK who get into trouble for dress code (example: A woman wore a bikini top to a mall during Ramadan...HELLO?! Use common sense and respect. Its their most religious time of year and that is an overt showing of disrespect.) I think I will definitely cover myself up in the more conservative areas for respect and to avoid some uncomfortable staring. I think of it this way, if we ask them to uncover their faces in our countries, then we should follow their dress code in their country.

2.) Why would you want to move out into a hut in the middle of the desert? (My favorite!)

   Dubai is a very cosmopolitan city that is continuing to develop. In fact it develops so quickly that GPS and Sat Navs are pretty useless out there! (Not looking forward to driving!!)  Our company will be putting us up in very nice accomodation and paying our expenses (many companies do this for their foreign workers). If you were to move to Dubai on your own and then look for a job, accomodation and everything can be very expensive. One of the most exciting things about Dubai is that it is constantly growing and changing and looking to be better. Think of it as the Las Vegas of the Middle East.

3.) Can you drink out there?

   Yes. Non-Muslims can get a license that allows you to buy liquor at special stores. There are also many bars and clubs in hotels that cater to the non-Muslim population. With so many expats living there and so many western businesses setting up shop there, the country realizes it has to allow some exceptions. But there are also strict rules to follow. They do not tolerate public drunkeness at all. If you want to act like a drunk moron, do it in your house or IN the bar. Don't take it to the streets. Also, ZERO TOLERANCE drunk driving. The blood alcohol limit is ZERO percent. There are such cheap cabs and public transport that there really isn't a reason to drink and drive.

4.) Did you hear they take your passport and don't let you leave??

   Oh dear....Not even going to comment on that one! But the answer is NO...

5.) Can you get pork there?

   Surprisingly, Yes! There are certain grocery stores (Waitrose, etc.) that have a pork section. To make it even more special, it is usually tucked in a back room, hidden from any Muslim customers. It makes you feel like you are in the naughty section of the video store!

6.) With it being close to all the countries with conflict, do you see it getting bad there?

   So far, NO. Only time can tell what will happen, however, the UAE is a very safe place. They have very little crime and the natives are very well taken care of. I think the statistic is that only 20% of Dubai's population are Emiratis (natives). The citizens of Dubai and the UAE are looked after very well by their Sheiks (leaders of the Emirates). IF there were to be any trouble it would be by the foreign workers who are not necessarily treated the best, but I think the government would just send them back home. That being said, the Sheik of Dubai seems to be a very forward-thinking and intelligent man. A few years ago it came to light that the foreign construction workers were not being treated very well. After complaints and riots by the workers and some pressure from Human Rights groups, the Sheik allowed the workers to form unions to make conditions better. It may be a monarchy and yes, he can change the laws at his convenience, but if it were too drastic of a change then it would definitely have a knock-on effect on tourism and business.

7.) Can you celebrate Christmas?

   YES. While Islam  is the main religion there are many other churches and religions present. One of our tour guides actually praised Dubai on its cultural tolerance. He told us that people from all over the world, different religions, countries, etc. come together and celebrate each others holidays with respect and curiosity. I also heard that one of the hotels in Dubai had the world's most expensive Christmas Tree this past year. So yes, it is celebrated there. I guess we will see just how its done in a few months!

8.) It's HOT there...
No shit, Sherlock! It will be like Phoenix (my home town) but with the added humidity! OUCH!! Plus we are moving in the middle of June! This will be fun....

9.) But its filled with a bunch of Muslims!
Really?! I had no idea....(really people, get out more!) No they don't hate "the west" in Dubai. We are "Habibi" or friends because we bring them money and tourism! Money makes the world go round...However it will be interesting to experience being "second class" there. We've read that if you are in line at a restaurant and have ordered, if an Arab (local) arrives and wants to be served before you, you have to wait until they are done. Learning Arabic will hopefully be very beneficial! Plus the ratio last I looked was that locals make up 20% of the population while ex-pats make up the final 80%. Foreigners are the majority.

10.) Are you gonna work out there?
Yes, that is the plan. There are many companies looking to hire English speakers. We heard a story that one of my husband's colleagues went out there with his wife who hadn't worked much before and she ended up getting a job with Microsoft out there making more than him! The opportunities are there, just need to find them!

I must stress though that a lot of the concerned looks have come from Americans and people who don't know much about Dubai. I don't blame them! I was nervous when I first went there. But if you tell the Brits, jealousy takes over the conversation. "Wow you will have such an amazing time!" "My son and daughter-in-law have lived there for 9 years and LOVE it!" "Oh man, I just had my holiday there! I loved it..." So I get the good with the bad. Hopefully my blog can help change some minds about life over there.

Big News!

Our journey started a few months ago...With my husband exhausted with his current job and both of us feeling ready for a change from our life in the UK we decided to take a leap of faith and apply for a job in Dubai. Both of us are adamant believers in fate so we decided that if the job were to come our way, it was meant to be. An email inviting hubby to an assessment in February was our first step, followed by months of preparation and studies, then 4 days of intense exams and interviews. Once this was over we hoped for the best and kept our fingers crossed. We found out two weeks later that he had been offered a position in Dubai! We are so very excited, nervous, anxious and impatient about this change. I decided to keep this blog as an account of events for the move, to assist others who are or will be going through the "expat experience," and to keep friends and family up to date on how we are doing.

Right now we are still in the planning stages: visa paperwork, moving, selling our household items that we will not take with us, reading a LOT about Dubai and the UAE, trying to learn some Arabic and/or Urdu, job hunting (for me), and just taking in the gigantic change ahead. Hubby will be going to Dubai at the end of May and I hope to follow by the end of June (beginning of a LONG and HOT summer! Good thing I love the heat...).

So far I have nothing too useful to post but I wanted to get this set up and ready to go for more fun posts to come! Enjoy and wish us luck!