Things that make me smile

-Driving down Ghayathi streets blasting Kanye, Beyonce, Katy Perry etc
-The odd looks I get when dancing in my car(got that in the US too lol)
-Hearing a Rhi-Rhi ringtone in the middle of the desert
-Hearing things that distictly African(ie-my Nigerian friend suck his teeth when irritated)
-Hearing things that are distictly American(most any song on the radio-their love of Snoop Dogg)
-Spending all day doing my hair without feeling guilty
-Phrases, gestures, folk tales used by my Arabic ladies that I've heard/see my whole life
-The unexpected
-Random conversations
-People/Events that connect me to home
-Knowing that my kids are fundamentally no different than my previous kids(great hugs, eager learners, adorable smiles...little people in the making)
-Understanding little kids conversations...in ARABIC!!!
-Discussing which sheikh's successor is hot...while at school...with the Arabic ladies
-Learning about standards of beauty over here-the eyes are where it's at
-Speed limits are merely a suggestion
-The Beautiful Camel Competition
- Looking at the real desert at the Tilal Liwa Hotel(just beautiful)
-Realizing I don't need much
-The excitement of going home in 5 weeks
-Skype
-Facebook video chat
-Lame pick-up lines delivered in broken English(lame is lame no matter the language lol)
-Falling asleep on the couch (some things never change)

MY RINGTONE

This song makes me smile all the time!!!

40th Annual Camel Festival

Last night we went to see a camel race here in Ghayathi. Well we didn't see the reace but we did have quite the experience. We ended up meeting the big wigs, getting interviewed by a reporter from Dubai and taking a million PR pics. At first we were very concerned about going to the official ceremony area since none of us were dressed appropriately...I mean when we left our apartments we thought we were going to a casual camel race. Oh and there were a grand total of 9 women at the event-we 7 of them were in our group. Anyway, true to Arabic form they were very hospitable and showed us around, gave us a rundown of the history and purpose of the event(to maintain their cultural identity) and lots of tea, coffee and sweets. It was a good night.

The event is running for 6 days. Each day there's a Beautiful Camel competition with 10 winner and the winners get a luxury car. There are also camel sales and last year one camel went for 25million dirhams! We were told that the first day of competition is open to all (folks come from Saudi, Qatar etc to compete) but the rest of the days are restricted to UAE nationals. True to form I did not bring my camera along but others did so here are some pics of last night.

IT'S ELECTRIC! Boogie woogie woogie!

Today is International Diabetes Awareness Day. We had a program at school and the parents(read: mothers) were invited to attend. The kids sang a few songs, the school nurse spoke about the importance of testing and having a healthy lifestyle BUT the highlight of the program was the Electric Slide. Yes my people the other LT at the school and I led the mothers in the Electric Slide lol. It was so funny. First we showed them how it's done then we broke it down so they could dance along. Getting them up and moving was a chore in itself but our school nurse, whose idea this dancing thing was, is a pitbull when she wants something done...a pitbull with a smile. She even got our principal up and moving...for about 5 min but still it's progress. Those who participated in the dancing had a great time and it was a nice break. I swear I never in my life thought I would be teaching the Electric Slide to abaya clad ladies...not to mention being in one myself lol. It was a good day all aside from the vomit that ended up on my abaya but that's another story and comes with the territory.

Revocable Living Trusts, Power of Attorney, Will- oh my!

So I'm sitting here getting together my legal documents and boy it's soooooo boring. Granted it's needed and honestly I should have had this stuff in place before leaving the US but hey, better late than never. As boring as it is though, I kinda feel like a grown up. Takes me back to the days when I first took care of myself completely- I was finally a big girl lol. I'm also more motivated than ever to grow my little seedling, and it is oh sooooo small lol, of an estate into a large one, worthy of the title ESTATE. When I go I want all that my parents worked for to mean something. I want to be able to leave something of value to the next generation-so it's time to leave my love alone for a couple months(Dubai *sniff sniff*) and focus. With the help of my girl Suze I think it can be done.

My fellow LTs who are coming over, just be sure to get your affairs in order before you get over here...I know it's another thing on top of the millions of tasks to complete before coming to the land of sun and sand but it's worth it.

Back to basics

So for years I listened to one of my favorite financial gurus. Listening to her advice got me through so much and now that I live in the land of excess I feel myself slipping. I cannot watch her show over here but thanks to Mr. Jobs I can access her on iTunes. The best part???? IT'S FREE!!!!! YAY!!!! I love listening to her straight no chaser advice which honestly rarely deals with the figures. Hopefully this will help me stay on track...afterall that's part of the draw working here.

Finally!!!!

I found a decent Mexican spot-Casa Maria! It's located in the Green Community which is located on the outskirts of Dubai. It's a world away from the Dubai I know so far. I've been craving Alero and Alamo(my two favorite spots from DC & MD). Now I'm good till I head back to the States for Christmas.

Overall the food was good. I've heard of a few other spots but they are far more pricey and seem rather upity. I like my laid back Mexican places but I've got YEARS to try those places out.

On a completely different note -drum roll please.....

I got my hood dryer!!!! Yay!

Now we'll see how well it works but for now I'm pleased.

We're back together, my love and I.

It's Eid break and while many I know have headed out of the country for a few days of adventure or rest, I am back with my old love-Dubai. This time I'm staying longer than ever before and I'm on the hunt. Anyone who knows me well knows my hobby is hair. So I'm on the hunt for products and equipment yay! Some get excited about sports, I get excited about the Izumani ITC,450, peppermint essential oils and henna. Yes it takes all kinds lol. So anyway, my plan is to gently force my companion out of bed so we can go shopping for these fun items. I'm also starting my christmas shopping since I have a fairly good idea of what I'll be getting folks this year..all in all I think my old love and I will enjoy our Eid break. I'll get lost and he'll show me more of him. Oh Dubai, how I miss you everytime I leave.