New Subject Area...Skincare

Class Location:The Face Shop

It's a shame that I've been in the UAE for almost 3 years, have seen this store whenever I come to the city but completely ignored it. Well that was until earlier this week but let's rewind. I've struggled with my oily acne prone skin for well over 15 years now. In the past few months I've been becoming more and more consistent with my skincare regimen but the cleanser I was using was harsh(even though I didn't realize it) and the other products were eh ok. Now I'm also youtube obsessed-learning people, learning. I stumbled across this video below by The Island Beauty. In this video she talks about some Asian skincare products and how she incorporates them to keep her skin healthy. She also mentioned her skin was similar to mine! So I decided I would give the masks she talks about a try the next time I saw them.

Well as fate would have it I went to Abu Dhabi Mall in search of a new battery for my Dell. Sadly I could not find the battery but I ran across The Face Shop. For the first time I stepped in and my skincare life will never be the same! The sales lady, though initially a bit standoffish warmed up and was so sweet, explained my options and recommended two masks to me-Mung Bean and Rice. After trying the Mung Bean Mask  and a few of the samples I was sold! I went back and dropped probably more than I should have on skincare products. However these should last me a good 2-3months so I feel justified.

Top Row(left to right): Charcoal Phyto Powder in Cleaning Foam, Mascara, Chai seed toner, Mild Papaya Peeling Mask, Flebot White Crystal Luxury Eye Cream, Arsainte Eco-Therapy Crystal Water Ultra Cream
Bottom Row(left to right): Green Tea toner, Real Nature Mask Mung Bean, Baby Face Hydrogel Mask Collagen

After I told her I was leaving the UAE she also gave me more samples! And who doesn't love free samples. I told her how I loved the Papaya mask so she gave me a 6week supply! I can't wait to share some of these goodies with my Mom, sister and cousin when I go home for a short visit!

Top Row: Sleep Mask, Real Nature Mask Aloe Vera, Mild Papaya Peeling Mask
Bottom Row: Wash-Off Mask, Sseal Escargot 24k Gold Cream

Stay tuned for reviews!

And then the plan changed

So in my most recent post I said I was moving to EG well...the plans have changed. I've accepted a position in neighboring Cameroon. I'll be moving to Yaoundé to teach at the American School of Yaoundé! I'm over the moon about this! I realized I've never lived in a major city in my life so this should be a very interesting move. Yaoundé is home to 1.5-1.8 million people...this small town girl is moving to the big city. So far I'm very positive about the school. It helps that I have connections there already-both in person and via social media. I should be landing in the great city of Yaoundé on August 9th and a new adventure will begin!

Stay tuned till then...

Progress!(An old post from 2012)

Yay! Whose front door is now fixed after 10 months????
That's right. This chick right here! I'm so happy! No more getting stuck in my apartment and calling my neighbor to come rescue me. This is progress indeed :-)

Janet(Another 2011-12 post)

This weekend I did something I thought would be AMAZING! I went to see Janet Jackson in concert. Sounds great right? Well as it turns out it was one of those things that is great in theory and that's the only place it's great. Sad to say, I liked the IDEA of seeing Janet more than actually seeing her. I left shortly after intermission. Eh, guess I'm not a true fan but I'm sure that doesn't hurt her heart too badly. Though I will say during the concert I was completely freaked out and convinced that Michael was still alive. At one point she sang some slow song that I didn't know but she looked JUST like him and SOUNDED just like him too! So freaky....

And for a break from Ghayahti Pt 1(2011 post but a must see)

Moving on

My, my, my it's been a long while since I've done anything on here. So update! My run in Abu Dhabi is coming to a fast end. I've been here for a little over two and a half years(three school years about) and I'm ready to say good-bye(for now anyway). The process of getting over here is as convoluted as the process for leaving. I can't blame them about the exit process though 'cause so many expats have come, run up thousands of dollars in debt and run away. So now those of us coming behind have about a million hoops to jump through...not bad so long as you start a good 2months ahead. Well at this point I've only a few big things left in my apartment and at the rate things are going I'll have just about everything cleared out within the next week or two. I'll just be living out of my bag(already doing that) and sleeping on an air mattress. At this point in my leaving process I've become a pro at listing my things at a great price and sticking to it no matter what is said. I'll tell you these people are so good at trying to get every last fil(same as penny) out of you smh...

Anyway so now I'm moving to....long dramatic pause..... Malabo, Equatorial Guinea! Si! I'm moving to a Spanish speaking nation in west central Africa. So I've started brushing up on my Español. So far I've loved my time there-been there twice. I'll be posting more about this place and what I expect out of this new adventure. Below are pictures of a visit to Sepopo Beach with they boys(I'm always with the boys lol) during my first trip- December 2012- to Malabo.

 

The People (Morocco Pt2)

From the time I arrived in Morocco till I left each person I met fortified my faith in humanity. The warmth, concern and easy nature of these people-Moroccan or otherwise-provided a soft place for me to land after the tiring/draining term I had.

Yousef-my unofficial tour guide from Agadir. He and I met through others and he decided to show me around Marrakech on his little scooter. We had a great time.

The above two pics are of dinner with folks I met through couchsurfers.com. These people were from all over the world and the conversations we had were absolutely wonderful.

My roomies-one from the Philippines and a mother/daughter team from the UK. Lots of conversation about so many topics-women's issues to love of travel to passion for work.

Jayme-one of the roomies I went sightseeing with. I was amazed by the conversations she and I had. It felt like talking to one of my friends from the states.

The two Jamals...we made tagine with beef in the Menara Gardens. 

My boys...Jamal, Mirwen and Robert. Mirwen is a hippie from Iraq-yea I was surprised. He had just come back from a 4 month stint in India. Robert is from Slovakia and is in a state of change which made for great conversations about what really matters in life. Jamal is Moroccan. He's from a small village in the Atlas Mountains and was a great source of information.