Suggestions for anyone driving in Dubai

Suggestions for anyone driving in Dubai

Stock up on gas (full tank is best),  plenty of drinking water, and food that won't spoil and have them all in your car. Then make sure to have a GPS system, compass, a mobile/cell phone and hopefully one with internet in case you need it. Then also buy a few recently printed maps (things change quickly here).

To have the best frame of mind, have plenty of time, the provisions listed above, and a healthy use of the popular 'U' turn or in some cases an elaborate 'U' turn on a highway can take the shape of a clover when you travel:

Also, be familiar on how to use roundabouts or traffic circles because they are everywhere. Then have a good sense of where the water is - I suggest when you see the row of skyscrapers, there you go - and also which direction Abu Dhabi and Oman are in general.

Then, be aware that there are cameras all over the road ready to take your picture when you speed. If your car is local, it will probably beep when it goes over the 120km/hr speed limit although there are places where the speed limit is lower.

Realize that things are not logical, sometimes you need to go right to go left and left to go right. Sometimes, there is no exit or the signs are not very well labeled. Don't always trust the GPS.

Above all, when you take the wrong exit or turn, be prepared that it will take you another 5-20 minutes and 10 miles to get a chance to make it right. In fact, just today on a large clover inter-pass, I saw a car reversing on the side of the road because they had missed their exit and knew it would be hell to pay to correct that mistake.

So, have patience, be positive, make sure you have eaten, have water, and gone to the restroom before you start your first few trips. Soon, you will have a better sense of where you are going and be more Dubai-savvy to not require as much planning.
Ruby L. Powers
September 4, 2011

Dubai's habit of grouping things together

Today I drove in Dubai by myself, beyond just my neighborhood. I am really proud of myself. I took Burak to work since we are sharing one car. He should be out of the city/country during the week so I can use the car and carpool occasionally.

He works in Dubai Internet City. Then I was thinking how odd it might be to most Americans that there are these little cities inside Dubai:
Dubai Internet City - lots of tech places and some other groups
Dubai Media City - has the media
Dubai Knowledge Village - has universities
Dubai Industrial City
Dubai Investments Park 1 and 2
Dubai Land Residence
Dubai Maritime City
Dubai Outlet City
Dubai Sports City
Dubai Studio City (we live near this)
Dubai Motor City (we live near this)

It seems so simple and yet very genius. Group the like companies together.

Dubai does that grouping in their malls as well. In most of the malls I have seen, especially Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates, like stores are right next to each other. For example, there are baby stores side by side on a top floor of Dubai Mall which makes it very nice to price shop and compare items. In the US, this would  probably be unheard of and there would be contracts against putting the competition right next to each other in commercial real estate.

Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano blasts out ash

I am a Mexican citizen through my mom. I lived in Mexico for a couple of years of my life if you add up all the summers, school years, and college semester. Maybe more than 2 years. 


Anyway, I remember that this volcano had the funniest name to say.  It comes from the Nahuatl words meaning Smoking Mountain.

Volcano in Mexico City

Efficiency and Delegation

August 29, 2011
I usually feel like I am living in a tv show and there is a theme for that episode. I call often say there is a theme of a week. So my theme of the week or weeks right now is efficiency and delegation.

This week I have been updating my website and making a new logo. I have a friend helping g me with the website and I have already been searching many other immigration law firm websites that I like and aspects that I want to incorporate in my website. Being able to communicate what I envision can be difficult but later saw the challenge in making the logo.

I am using this website called 99designs to have designers make me a logo. I put in my ‘brief’ which information about the company, what I am looking for, colors, shapes, ideas, and then with one week, designers work to give me their attempt. I give them feedback and see how having multiple bids helps give me ideas I had never thought of. I can be creative but I am not really artistic or get to use my creativity much. So I am amazed at what had evolved from my brief. It isn’t finalized yet but what I realized in this exercise is that delegation requires good communication and a vision of what you had in mind in the first place.

My third example of my theme of the week is my hair incident on Saturday and Sunday of this week. I haven’t had my hair done since late May. I moved to Dubai July1. Between the heat and being a mom, I needed to cut it shorter and update the color. I took a leap of faith going to my neighborhood’s salon without a recommendation but I was getting into desperate mode and wanted it done.

Basically, this is one of the things I hate about moving the most, getting your new team. Hairdresser, church, OB, general doctor, chiropractor, dentist, nail salon, etc. For the last 2 years my sister ahs been doing my hair and she has perfected it. I told the hairdresser I wanted some highlights and lowlights and I wanted it to look natural, I don’t want to have to come back but every 3-4 months to fix the roots. I also wanted layers and it to be shorter. So, I had the vision, but I am not sure if I communicated it effectively.

About 3 hours later, I had 3 colors on my head with very chunky highlights that did not look natural at all. It was really blonde, then dark blonde or light brown (natural hair), and something darker. But I felt like I looked like those jars of peanut butter and jelly that are layered in stripes in the jar. Plus the cut didn’t seem short enough and layered enough. Frustration. 3 hours and a lot of money – They charged me extra for the 2 colors so it was way more expensive that I thought than when I walked into the door.

OH! So I don’t have tv and I don’t buy stupid, girly magazines because I get my fix at the salon. They only had business magazines and really boring stuff. Also, there was no music and they didn’t offer me anything to drink (because it was Ramadan).

In the end, it wasn’t what I wanted but they had already spent 3 hours and I swear they were all running out the door, I think because it was end of Ramadan for the day and they wanted to eat. I told her I wanted some changes and she told me to come back.

I went back the next day. I told her again and again about color and even pointed to charts. I later learned, she didn’t understand what I was saying but was pretending like she did. I learned that when I asked here some questions and her responses were completely not answering and understanding my questions. So, she finally got the coloring right and in the end she said something like she thought she understood what I wanted yesterday but that she had already started….? Then she did the cut very thoroughly and layered.

In the end, I was happy and it looked nice and I wasn’t upset for spending all that money. She said ok and walked away to work on another person. The receptionist was on the phone and so I left since I considered the work paid for from the day before. Then about 10 minutes later, I got a call and they were asking me to pay for the color. I told them they FIXED what they did the day before and I wasn’t going to pay. Plus, the hairstylist told me to come back and she would fix it. In the end, they said it was ok. I think that there was a problem of communication that made us all waste so much time and resources.

So, now that I have a law clerk about to start in a week and also a phone answering service, I realize, I need to be good at delegating by effectively communicating and having a vision. In reality, having the communication and vision can be difficult if you are not sure what you want.

I know delegating is the key to greater things and I am wanting to see what I need to do and what I should have someone else help me with.

Living in Dubai: Family vs. Money?

August 20, 2011

Everyone in Dubai who is not from Dubai, is here for money. In some shape or form it is about money. The Indian laborer doesn’t see his wife and kids for years but sends home money that they wouldn’t dream of in India. The Philipino maid who went home only to have her child and come back to Dubai is here to make money and send it home while her family raises her child. The professional Western expat is here for a few years, normally with the luxury of bringing their family and belongings with them, to work really hard, enjoy a tax-free environment, and hopefully return home after a few years.

This last 10 days my husband, 7 month old son, and I spent the entire time at my husband’s grandfather’s place in Eskesihir. We introduced our son to his grandmother, great grand parents, great aunt, great uncles, 2nd cousins, and more for the first time. Rex had been the first baby in the household for 9 or so years so it was complete fun to watch 50 and 80 year olds getting on all fours to crawl with him or getting really silly entertaining him. We slept a lot, we ate at restaurants and cafes, I worked a few hours a days, we talked, we toured around town and went to parks, and enjoyed the time at a slow pace with a focus on family. I enjoyed the cool weather, the open doors and cheap prices.

I noticed how calm and happy my husband was there and since we have returned. I told him that I don’t want to stay in Dubai a long time because I want to be around family. The best thing about living on this side of the world is that we are closer to his family and after a 4 and half hour flight and a long bus ride we are there.

In general, I think life is too short to spend too much time away from family.

When we decided to move to Dubai it was a combination of a few things. Burak wanted to discover consulting and see if it was a good match for him. So far, he really likes it. Also, we wanted to take advantage of the tax break from living abroad in a tax-free country. Mostly, we wanted to pay off our graduate school loans. When I realized how much we spent on interest alone last year, I realized we needed to start paying those suckers down aggressively. Another factor that let me feel free to go was that my mom had been suffering a long battle for her health and finally lost in December 2010. I finally felt like I could leave Texas for a little while since she was gone. So, there you have it, we are here in Dubai for money, to pay off our school loans, to pay off our Houston house, and for Burak’s career.

We aren’t the only ones sacrificing a few years of our child’s life away from family for money. Many others are doing the same. One Danish couple just had their first child and they plan to stay for 7-10 years. Another American couple plans for 3 years total and had their first baby a month or two after settling in. Their family is taking turns flying in to meet the new member.

Our maid has 3 college-age children and hasn’t seen them for 3 years. She doesn’t have email but uses her friend’s computer to Skype to her children. She is here to help put them through college. They don’t have computers and they have to go to an internet café for internet and computer use for college. She sends almost anything she finds or is given to the Philippines including some hotel toiletries I gave her for her to use. She wants to return in March to see her son graduate college.

My maid’s friend has a 14 year old child. She has worked and raised expat children for 20 years. She had her child in the Philippines and then went back to working in Dubai. She probably only sees her child every few years but has raised a Scottish 9-year old living in Dubai since she was 6-months old.

Today at the mall I was looking for lipstick and pushing around an empty baby stroller because my husband had my son in a baby carrier in another store. The lady asked me how old my baby was. I told her 7 months. She said she had twin 8 month olds in the Philippines. She and her husband live in Dubai, she went home for a break between jobs and had her babies and left them with her mother, sister, and babysitter when they were 3-months old. She is going to go see them when they are 1 years old. I almost cried there but basically thought about all the little things like when a baby first laughs, how funny their cry can be when they are pouting, their first crawling experience, first tooth, all the things that happen the first year. She and her husband are missing most of it.

But what they are all doing is what we are doing, trying to make a better life for our children.

The positive side to living here, traveling around, and meeting new people is that it is an adventure. I am exposing my son to a new world. Just living in Mexico in the summers as a child made me want to travel more so I know living in a Dubai a little bit will make Rex want to see more of the world.

Plus, since almost no one has extended family here except the Emiratis, which is about 10-15% of the population, bonds of friendship become stronger here between neighbors, friends, and co-workers because we are each other’s family while we live here. I see this over and over.

When I told my dad I was moving to Dubai, he text me ‘money isn’t everything.’ Yes, money isn’t everything. Being in Dubai is for adventure, new ways of thinking, Burak’s career goals, maybe even my career goals, debt reduction, savings, and freedom. The savings allows us not to be slaves to our debt and be able to start saving for our children’s graduate school so they don’t have to do the same. It is also forcing me to create a viable semi-virtual law firm. Realizing that I can work from home whether in Dubai or on vacation in Turkey or wherever I am with good internet and my laptop, is a very empowering idea.

So, a year or two or three later, who knows, we will return to the US with more experience, more life stories and travels under our belt and hopefully most of our graduate loans and part of our Houston house paid off. For now, we have email, Skype, and Facebook to keep us in touch with friends and family around the world. In the end, I think we, unlike some of the other expat communities in Dubai, are getting the money without sacrificing too much of the family.

 

Facebook in Turkey - This is funny

Since my mother in law finally met her first grandchild just a few days ago at his age of 7 months old, I have been  updating Facebook regularly so she can watch him grow up. I also do that for the rest of my family since we live all over the place.

When I arrived in Turkey, she told me she was grateful that I posted so much on Face. I wondered why she called it 'Face' instead of 'Faceboook.'  I figured she was in her mid-50s trying to get up to speed with technology and my mom used to call it Yearbook, Face lift, and a different name each time, so I figured I wouldn't even bother correcting her.

A couple of days into our trip, we were at someone's house and they were uploading photos to Facebook from the visits and they kept calling it 'Face.' I overhead ....Turkish turkish turkish and then 'face' in English and then Turkish, turkish, so I was wondering why did they all call it 'Face.' Burak told me that the word 'bok' in Turkish is the word for slang for 'sh$t' so to avoiding saying the word 'bok' which sounds like the English word of 'book' in their Turkish accent, they call it simply 'Face.' Otherwise, it would be Sh$tFace or Facesh$t.

I bet Zuckerberg didn't think about that when he created FB back in the day.

Ramadan Ready - Experiencing some of Ramadan in Dubai, UAE

For a non-practicing Muslim in Dubai, you have to be very careful not to eat or drink in public or I guess you can say, get caught eating or drinking in public.  Ramadan is basically all of August 2011 from dawn to sunset, so most of the day.

Before coming to Dubai, I had heard these horror stories about Ramadan and how you needed to be prepared. I frankly wanted to just leave the entire month. In July, I read newspaper articles that said if caught, you could go to jail for a month.

Some of what I read and heard from taxi drivers and expats indicated as a breast-feeding mother, I was allowed to eat and drink and would be off the hook. But I really did't want to push my luck and find out if the locals thought the same way. I mean they might see me with a baby all the time but I don't have a sign on my chest that says - 'Breastfeeding Mother' so they might assume I am breaking the law first, and ask questions later.

I knew I could feed Rex without him going to jail. Children under puberty can eat during Ramadan. Additionally, Rex wouldn't fit into any jail uniforms yet and we are trying to keep a clean record for him to have a future career in politics  Anyway, I digress...

Burak had some time off and we had some things to buy for the house before our container arrived.  We planned to go to the mall. It took me a few more minutes that normally to get what I call 'Ramadan Ready.'

I packed some fruit and water for the car, made sure we had enough water for Rex in case I needed to make cereal or formula, and made sure to wear something to cover my sexy knees and shoulders.  Ok, that doesn't sound like a lot but I put thought into it.

We arrive at the Mirdiff City Center Mall and after a while I realize what seems weird, there is no music playing anywhere out of respect for Ramadan. Additionally, there are not a lot of people there. Then we continue to browse and shop. I get a little thirsty and hungry. Quick, I find the baby room of the women's bathroom and change Rex and close the door for a swig of water and a bite or two of an apple.

We finish with a trip to Carrefour, the grocery store, in the mall.  Ironically, we are all buying food but we can't eat it publically and Muslims can't eat it for several more hours.  Burak and I bought some food to eat in our heavily window-tinted car in the parking lot. We were so hungry from not eating for about 3-4 hours we were about to tear each others heads off, or something less drastic, but the hunger was getting to us. We finally got in the car, with the food, turned up AC, made the baby happy, and scarfed down food trying to make sure no one saw us. After a few minutes, our blood sugar went back to normal and we contemplated whether it was worth driving to another store before Iftar, the breaking of the fast.

We then went to ACE Hardware as we dodged drivers who had been fasting for 15 hours or so (ie dangerous!) and we arrived right when the Iftar started so we had the place to ourselves. Rex played with every toy I could find and Burak searched for his electric power toys.

The next day we went to Dubai Mall and had to get some things from our list.  We again got hungry and bought food to go from a restaurant in the mall with black curtains covering its door.  We asked if we could eat there and they said no. Apparently, if we get caught eating in public we get a 500 Dhs fine or about $135 - But I thought we had jail on the table too.  And if the restaurant got caught with people eating there it would have a 5000 Dhs fine, or about $1,350.

So we did what any respectable hungry person living in Dubai during Ramadan would do, we promptly took our 'take out' to the baby rooms in the bathrooms and ate with the joy of finally being fed and the fear of being caught.  Luckily, my baby room had a small room inside that I could close the door. Burak luckily had a baby room in the men's restroom but probably because 1. there aren't many people at the malls during the day of Ramadan and 2. I assume not a lot of men change their babies diapers if the wife/mom is around to do it, he had the baby room to himself.

After the call to prayer and Iftar begins, many people go to the malls and the hours are extended to 1-2am. I really don't know how people are surviving with weird hours and fasting but if I were them, I would sleep during the day if possible and stay up at night, if I could.

In fact, most Government-based offices close at 2pm during Ramadan. So unlike in the US in some places you have to be careful after 2am when the drunks are driving home from closing bars, in Dubai during Ramadan, you need to be careful around 2pm of the fasting drivers driving home on empty.

Spending Ramadan or Ramazan in Turkey - August 2011

Approximately the entire month of August 2011 Muslims are celebrating Ramadan.

From Wikipedia:

 It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and sexual intimacy with their partners^[1] during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God. Muslims fast for the sake of God (Arabic: الله‎, trans: Allah) and to offer more prayer than usual. Compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards by about eleven days each yeardepending on the moon. Muslims believe Ramadan to be an auspicious month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.

Ramadan in Turkish is called RamaZan.  From what I have observed and heard, not a lot of Turks are fasting. I even overheard someone say, fasting from dawn to sunset in August, approximately 15 hours is not doable so they don't even try.

But I do see people eating Iftars..

From Wikipedia:

Muslims all around the world will abstain from food and drink, through fasting, from dawn to sunset. At sunset, the family will gather the fast-breaking meal known as Iftar. 

Every restaurant we to go for dinner, seems to have a Iftar meal or buffet. Right now, the Iftar starts around 8:20pm.

Having observed my first week of Ramadan in Dubai, UAE, I have some comparisons to make with Ramazan in Turkey:

- Turkish people don't seem to be fasting as much as the Emiratis

- There is a drummer that wakes up the people before dawn to make sure to eat. The drummer goes around during the day and night asking for tips for this service. I almost got a picture but he got away. I later heard one Saturday night and they even rang the door bell asking for tips, we told him to be quiet please because our baby was sleeping. I also read an unfortunate recent story about a drummer being stabbed by an angry drunken resident.

- Apparently, Turkish women participate in Friday prayers. I don't know much about this but this isn't common in other Muslim countries.

Ok that is what I have for now...


Update: 8/15/2011 - Last night about 2:45am a drummer was drumming down the road next to where we are staying.  Some of the articles I read think this tradition is obsolete now that we have alarm clocks. 

Going to Grandmother's House - From Dubai, UAE to Eskesehir, Turkey

On August 9, 2011 we left Dubai and 12 hours later, via taxi, plane, taxi, bus, and car, we made it to Eskesehir, Turkey

When we planned our move to Dubai in Spring 2011, it was our intent to visit with Burak's Turkish family and introduce Rex to them (Born January 2011).  We weren't sure when we were going to be able to do it with Burak's new demanding, travel-intense job.

Burak hadn't been to Turkey since February 2006 when his father passed away.  I hadn't been there since my first visit in June 2004, 7 years! When we last went to Turkey we stayed 2 months before moving to Barcelona for my Rotary Scholarship. We spent that time visiting family, doing tourism like Istanbul, Izmir, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, etc. and applying to law/business school. I studied for the LSAT and Burak wrote business school essays. We had fun but I remember that I was quite stressed about the law school application process and frustrated because I didn't speak Turkish and it appeared almost no one knew English, Spanish or French. A lot of my original impressions are on this blog from 2004.

Fast forward to early August 2011. Burak and I bought plane tickets the day before our flight to Turkey.   Burak starts a new job on August 21st in Dubai so we have some time and some money to travel BUT we were waiting for his passport from UAE immigration which was finalizing his residency visa. The moment we got it, we bought our plane tickets from Dubai to Istanbul on Emirates which was about $450 per person round trip. (Not bad!)

We headed to the airport around 12:30pm for the 2:20pm flight. The flight was about 15% full and we had an entire 4 seater row plus bassinet for Rex to ourselves.  He was a hit with flight attendants and other guests who wanted to hold and kiss him. I love flying Emirates and I love it for children. We pay a little extra (10% of an adult flight) and get a bib, cream, spoon, teething ring/toy, small baby wipes, plastic bags for diapers, and napkins in a small little clear carrier bag plus we get baby food and a one of  collection of 4 or 5 hand puppets. We now have the Jamoul the Camel from the Middle East and the Mouse (?) from North America.
** Side note: Emirates Airlines, you gave all of North America a mouse? Why not Bear, Eagle, or anything but a mouse?

Rex crawled around the row of seats and I walked him up and down the aisles.  With one short nap and lots of toys, fun, and a tired mommy, the 4.5 hour flight went by fast.

We landed in Istanbul around 6:30pm or so. (It is still Ramadan and the fast doesn't break until about 8:20pm) For immigration, Burak took the Turkish national line and Rex and I went in the Other nationalities line. The airlines people as I exited the plane told me to just go without my stroller because it would show up in the baggage claim. Bad idea. After holding the 19 lb Rex for 10 minutes waiting in the immigration line, the immigration office tells me to go 'Visa'. I am like what? Then I realized we had to go into one line and pay $20 per US citizen for a little cheap sticker in our passport and then go back in the even longer line that I had originally started with, with what seemed like a heavier baby, to wait for a stamp in our passport.

I was in line next to some Spaniards who were cute and talking about how slow the line was. They had the same problem that I had (there was no warning or signs!) and had to go to the visa line and return to the long line. The Spaniards had no concept of personal space and were basically touching Rex and I. They were talking about people like no one in the world knows Spanish. It was fun to remember my other favorite country.


When we collected our luggage, converted some money, and walked outside the airport doors I was amazed by a few things:
- I wasn't sweating immediately. The weather was like 70-80F unlike Dubai's 110F.
- There were a lot of smokers!
- Our taxi didn't have the AC on, only opened some windows but is felt Amazing!!
- It was green and there was a lot of color. We drove around and Istanbul was very colorful - buildings, flags, greenery, people's clothing - not just black and white.
- there were no painted lanes on the roads
- some guys were selling water on the highway at a bend where the traffic slowed (really?)
- There was a clear sky - In Dubai, it is hazy during the day in the summer.
I thought I had arrived in the most beautiful place on earth but I realized it was just that I was comparing it to Dubai in August during Ramadan, probably the worst time to ever be there, ever. Thank goodness I had 10 days of not being there while I visited family in Turkey

We took a cab to the OtoGar or Bus Station (literally it takes from the German for car - oto - and French for station - Gare.  I love that about Turkish, there are they little hidden gems of French words spelled phonetically.  Like shower is douche in French is Dus (s with tail) in Turkish, sounds like Dush.  Or Coiffure is hair salon in French is kuaför in Turkish.

We ate OUTSIDE (Amazing!) at a little restaurant quickly eating our meal before our 8pm bus would take off for 5.5 hours.  After downing some water and tea, etc. I made the comment that the bus would have a bathroom, right? Then Burak had hesitation and told me not to count on it. I then told him we should take a bathroom break before getting on.  The atmosphere at the outdoor cafe in a large square, I felt like I was in Europe and some people argue Turkey is Europe but I felt like the memories of Spain, Belgium, France, etc were all coming back to me and I felt very comfortable.

Our bathroom experince, basically you had to pay to use the restroom like 50 cents. I had planned to change Rex but when I realized that there was a turnstyle entry and no changing stations, Burak and I took turns going without Rex and I took care of him in the bus.

The bus ride - we bought 3 seats and Rex played before sleeping in his car seat.  Another baby cried a lot and eventually woke me up around 1:30am. I really try hard not to be like that parent whose baby cried uncontrollaby for minutes.  I know each case is different but having traveled for about 12 hours with a 7month old, I was about to take the baby and try to give him Rex's formula. Anyway...

We arrived in Eskesehr around 1:30am and as we stepped off the bus, Rex met his paternal grandmother and paternal great grandfather for the first time. I almost had a small tear drop in my eye since it had been a while since we saw them and Rex was finally getting to see his other side of the family.

Unfortuntely, 1:30am is feeding time and Rex soon started crying. I made a bottle of formula since it was late and we were at a bus station and let his grandmother bond and feed him.  We soon went to the car and realized it was going to be a 'fun' ride to the house. With our 3 big suitcases, 1 carryone, baby bag, car seat, snap n go stroller, 4 adults and a baby in small sedan car, we drove slowly and got there in one piece.

We arrived and realized that they so sweetly prepared a fold out bed for Rex but since he had aquired crawling skills just a week beforehand, we realized this was a recipe for disaster.  We put all the suitcases around a small rectangle of space and he slept there the first night until we moved him into another suitcase bordered crib in the living room.

Finally, we were at a 'home.' I was surprise they had no AC but after a cold shower (I didn't know how to turn on the hot water heater) and an open window, I fell asleep until Rex woke me up again.

My bathroom is sexist

Ok, maybe I am exaggerating but it appears to me my bathroom is sexist. My new house in Dubai has only one electrical plug-in and it says it is for 'Shavers Only' and even shows a simple picture of a man shaving. It isn't even a regular electrical outlet. I don't see any other electrical outlets in the bathroom and I checked with the other two bathrooms, nothing! So I have to blow dry my hair wherever I can find an electrical outlet and plug in the adapter, ahh! Then I have to walk to a mirror to check it out.

Eye Spy at the Mall of the Emirates - Dubai Ski and Carrefour - July 10, 2011

You are all getting one of these lovely t-shirts!!

Oh, this is my office and my feeling of being an electrical engineer with all the adapters!

That is a column or tower of hard hats on the side of the road.

"I don't like your attitude!"

I was trying to get another example of Emirati clothing.

Sweepy baby with his pouty lip

You can rent this at Dubai Ski and go down the snow in it!

Buying diapers in a foreign country but there are a lot of the same brands just different marketing.

Ok, I have a problem with this one - They put the Drano and drain cleaner next to the feminine hygiene products. It must make the men just as uncomfortable as the women to be reading product labels next to each other. Really? They couldn't think of a better place to put these? It seems like an abrupt lack of transition.

Just what I wanted! Pancakes in a Flash!

I wanted to look down the aisle and see if there were some x-rated cookies somewhere under the 'Adult cookie' section.

Yummy!

Getting ready for Ramadan

Return Policies - We miss you Costco and Amazon.com!!!

Burak and I got spoiled on awesome American return policies at stores especially when we later decided, we didn't need what we bought or in other cases, one of us (not to name names) thought we didn't need what the other one bought (ah hem).

Now in the UAE, I price shop and price shop and never buy because if I buy something here, like a coffee maker, water kettle, cell phone, etc...I have to keep it forever. The return policies are pathetic. It is like no return or make a store credit return within 7 days. It reminds me of the maternity clothing return policy in Houston and I thought long and hard before I bought. To make things worse, someone told me the prices are fixed so there isn't much to price shopping but I have found that different stores carry different brands so I am like to keep looking before buying.

We love Costco for being Costco but also because they would take stuff back even a year later. (I know that sounds bad) and then we loved Amazon because, for example, many baby items from Amazon directly had 365 day returns. This was awesome because you often buy things or are given things you think you need for a baby and then the baby outgrows it or doesn't need it or you realize it was too much and you can return it!

This post is an ode to Costco and Amazon. With you being far far away from us, I am sure we will pay off our graduate loans a lot sooner than if we were in the US.

Emirati Clothing and Accessories

On the right, you can see samples of traditional Emirati clothing

The Emirati women like their cell phones with a lot of bling- bling

Since we can't take any pictures of the Emiratis without asking and I haven't built up the nerve to ask, I caught this photo of little parade in the mall and you can see some traditional Emirati clothing

Pedicure Finally!

My last pedicure was June 11th, the day I had an awesome 30th birthday party and going away party. I went with my awesome friend, Ann.

I picked up an expensive habit of needing a pedicure once a month. I think it started when I moved to Houston and I wore open-toe shoes year round! But, I also like to go with girlfriends, my sister, and loved to take my mom and grandma as a treat.  My mom would only go when I took her and I was always paying for her get her fake nails off.  mom ( :) )

I remember I was in a nail salon with my mom and grandma in San Antonio when the breaking news was that Sarah Palin was going to be the Vice President candidate for the Republican party back in 2008 I guess.

I have had a pedicure in at least 3 countries that I can remember.  In the US, Turkey, and UAE.

In the UAE, all the nail salons from what I can tell, are Ladies Only and the walls are blocked off so you can't see inside, unlike the US when they are almost always glass walls so you can see what is inside.  I couldn't find my regular color with the brand OPI - 'I am not really a waitress' so I opted for Tito's 'Secret Lover' at the place called Tips and Toes in my neighborhood complex. I am sort of surprised that name is not banned here.  For 70dhs ($18US), I had a pedicure and for 70dhs I had a nice neck, back, and arm massage. It was a nice treat after all of June and Rex was with the nanny so I had a hour to chill out. I feel good now. I got to a point in Houston that I wouldn't feel complete until I had my car cleaned, my toes done and the house cleaned, then I was good.

VIP UAE Immigration

I have a new respect for immigrants to any country and since I am a US immigration attorney, it is sort of refreshing to be an immigrant to another country to help me have a renewed sense of sympathy for my clients.

My husband arrived June 14 and I arrived July 1. Soon after I arrived, Burak had his residency visa based on his work.  He then had this passport tied up because he was obtaining a visa to travel to Saudi Arabia and then was actually going to use his passport to go to Saudi Arabia.  This was going to be an issue because I was only given a 30 days stay in the UAE and had to convert my tourist visa into a resident visa fairly quickly given he was my sponsor had is only in the UAE one business day a week due to work.  We needed his passport and he to put my visa in action.

We also need a car. But we can't get the car until he has a driver's license.  He can't get a driver's license until he has:

- his residency visa

- an eye exam from an optical store

- 2 passport style photos

- money

- letter from his company

- original drivers license 

- copies of most of this

- go submit them to the Govt office

We needed Burak to start the process for my visa so on Sunday he went to an immigration office to sign something to get Rex and my visas started. Today I went to a medical clinic to get my medical exam for my visa. 

For Medical Exams:

The regular process costs approx 310dirhams (less then $100 US) and takes 7 business days

The Urgent Process costs approx 500 dirhams (approx $135 US) and takes 24 hours to process

The VIP process costs approx 690 dirham and take one day to process.  Burak's company paid for this process for him and we paid for this process for me. Rex didn't need an exam because he is younger than 18 years old.

I went to Burak's office and two employees accompanied me through the entire medical exam process. I spent one hour or less taking some blood and getting a chest x-ray. When Burak returns Thursday, he will go finish up the immigration process and then I will have my visa and then go get my driver's license! 

We needed the driver's license to buy the car and get a loan and drive the car. So hopefully we'll have a car this week or early next week and can quit taking cabs everywhere. Just to go from my neighborhood to central Dubai - 20 minutes - it is about $10 US dollars one way.

When both Burak and I have our visas, we can sponsor the maid/nanny. A man alone can't sponsor a maid so he needs for me to have a visa to sponsor her.  She is about to go out of status too so we are trying to get this all done ASAP. 

It is nice for time and peace of mind to have someone helping us through the process.  Burak's company has been guiding us or actually helping us through the process. I have a new respect for my profession.

Deep Thinking - Paradigm Shifts

From Wiki:  Paradigm shift (or revolutionary science) is, according to Thomas Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), a change in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, within the ruling theory of science. It is in contrast to his idea of normal science.


I was born in Joplin, MO then grew up between Lexington, MO, Saltillo, Mexico, and San Antonio, TX. I later lived in Verviers, Belgium as a high school exchange student, in Cuernavaca, Mexico as a college exchange student, Turkey with my husband's family, and Barcelona, Spain as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.  I now live in Dubai, UAE as an Expat, which I think is just a grown up exchange student. I was once told I could adapt on Mars since I was so adaptable and quick to adjust to a new environment. Compliment, maybe?


Whenever I lived in foreign countries, I caught myself thinking deep philosophical thoughts, analyzing the surrounding culture and at the same time questioning my home culture, and having major paradigm shifts.  Life was definitely not boring while living abroad. You can't take anything for granted.  I think I sort of like being on my toes and being challenged in this way.  Some of what I have learned this last 2 weeks from my normal way of life include:
- Here the 'weekend' is Friday and Saturday, not Saturday and Sunday like in the US
- My husband has to write a 'no-objection' letter to allow me to obtain my driver's license (what?)
- My husband has to write a 'no-objection' letter to allow me to obtain a liquor license (what?)
- You don't have to turn off your car motor engine off to have your gas pumped into your car here..you can sit in the AC, with the car on, and have it filled.
- Paying a live-in maid room and board and $400 US dollars a month for 6 days a week of 8-12 hours of work is normal
- Ramadan - can't eat or drink in public - sort of scared about this one
-  There are several electrical adapters to this place and they all confuse me. Why can't there be one here?
- Using the bidet or hoses - they are everywhere including in every bathroom in my house - I never had them in the US yet they are everywhere here.
- Being able to buy alcohol only at 1. Duty free at airport, 2. at hotel bars and restaurants, and 3. with a liquor license
- What is my 'good name'? My first name?
- My maid cleans windows with newspaper instead of paper towels or rags
- Living in a conglomerate world between Emirati, Indian, Philipino, US, British, etc. cultures
- Thank you God for the internet, Skype, email, internet (yes, I said it twice), and technology. I would not be so comfortable in my move had it been 5 or more years ago. I sort of feel like inside my house is the US and outside is the UAE.


I need to write these thoughts down now before I just assume them and then I forget that they were 'weird' to me at some point.


At the same time, the more you live abroad, the more things don't seem so weird. I caught myself thinking or saying , 'oh, that reminds me of Spain,' 'that reminds me of how we did it in Mexico,' 'that is what happened in Belgium,', 'oh, I saw that in Turkey,' and before long, things aren't too weird because you might have seen something similar before.


Well that was my philosopher's minute. Hopefully I remember to write about more of them and not take them for granted. If I do take them for granted, I will remember them when I am returning to the US, having reverse culture shock.


Oh joy!

Losing Weight in the Desert

Among my goals for our time in Dubai, I thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to lose the baby weight and in my own words, 'get hot,' even though I realize there was no pun intended with that expression but it seems funny now that I am living in the desert and somehow ended up here in the SUMMER!

What I  realized in the first few days was that it was going to be hard to accomplish this goal being that the local population is fighting obesity and diabetes type 2 with modernization of lifestyle and diet, to name a few: having to drive everywhere to get around, being in AC all day, can't go outside much at all, and the plethora of sweets and other great carb. foods. This is an equation for disaster. I guess that sounds like Texas and most of the US. Conclusion, I need to find a near by gym, buy a treadmill, and/or walk/run at ridiculous hours. I am also considering making the spare guest room a workout/baby play room/guest room. I could probably also go early in the AM to Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates with tennis shoes and walk a lot. Another thought.

In my brief attempt to pick up the newspaper at our front door before breaking a sweat, I realized at 6:30am the weather wasn't too bad. My computer read the temp was 95C.  So I decided to take Rex out for a small walk. There are a lot of walking/biking paths in our neighborhood and even a small lake between our neighborhood and the next one. I walked for 25 minutes and and it wasn't bad because of the breeze and the sun hadn't made it too high at the time. I don't know if I got lucky today or it is always like that at 6:30/7:00am.

I will continue to try to find ways to lose weight in the desert...

It is midnight in Dubai and the thermometer reads 102F

Burj Khalifa - I love just saying it

Bringing Burj Khalifa to life required a combination of visionary ideals and solid science. In the process, the project amassed an awe-inspiring number of facts, figures, and statistics.

World Records

At over 828 metres (2,716.5 feet) and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following records:

•  Tallest building in the world

•  Tallest free-standing structure in the world

•  Highest number of stories in the world

•  Highest occupied floor in the world

•  Highest outdoor observation deck in the world

•  Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world

•  Tallest service elevator in the world 

Dubai Ski

I love how Dubai doesn't like to be held down by normal conventions like how people would normally believe you can't have snow in a desert, of course you can! 

Dubai Ski

Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East and offers an amazing snow setting to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing, or just playing in the snow. Young or old, there is something for everyone, from the beginner to the snow sport enthusiast. Ski Dubai is a unique mountain-themed attraction that offers you the opportunity to enjoy real snow in Dubai all year round.

July 10, 2011 - Ruby and Rex at Dubai Ski

Self-Photo - July 10, 2011