Mid-East meets Midwest

My husband and I were walking down the street one our way to Trader Joe's to get some of our favorite goodies when we walked past a building we have walked passed many times before.

But this time something caught my eye. I tugged on my husband's arm to get him to slow down and pointed to the main entrance. "Look!"

"Yeah Bloomingdales. We don't need anything" He replied as he started walking again.

"No. Look at the writing around the entrance. That's arabic. Look at the detail. It's all Arabesque. It's beautiful."

We stood in awe for a few minutes before the freezing weather forced us to be on our way.

On our walk home we let our imaginations run wild with all the possibilities of how that building got there. Who built it? Why here in the heart of the city? How did it become a Bloomingdales of all things?

After all our pondering and speculation I was surprised to find out the real history of the building. It was built by the local Shriners group in 1912 and was an auditorium that the circus would preform in.

I find that I smile to my self as happen past this building again and again. It seems to bring me memories of the sun and palm trees of the Middle East every time I walk by.

My little piece of the Middle East right here in Chicago

2010 - where did it go?

What a year 2010 was. It brought me so many changes that sometimes I can't believe it all happened in the course of 12 months.

2010 brought me and my husband to the US and then to Chicago. Talk about a dramatic change from the deserts of UAE

The year over all was wonderful. We're healthy, we're happy and we're staying afloat - can't ask for much more.

I have made some new amazing friends who have instantly invited me into their knitting world as if I had always been there. When I think of how much has happened this last year I wouldn't change a thing (except for the nasty colds that seem to be following me around... but I digress) but the part that still brings me sadness and grief are all the wonderful amazing friends I left behind. Emails and online chatter just doesn't seem to convey how much I miss them. But I know one day we will be together again, knitting in a cafe for hours, showing off our newest yarn acquisitions and our latest WIPs and FOs.

The year has also brought me great changes in my knitting

I published my first pattern

And I also published my first "for sale" pattern

I managed to complete over 40 knitted FOs

But I didn't meet many of my other knitting goals for 2010

• I didn't knit with my own dyed yarn - but that's in the works for 2011 (more later)
• I definitely bought yarn before June - Hey I was back in the states and all my yarn was in transit... I'm strong but not THAT strong
• I didn't knit one stitch on that cabled purse. Not one
• I made NO sweaters for my self - but that's another thing in the works for 2011 (more later)

But I'm not too worried about my lack of accomplishments because, first, I have knit more than I ever have before and, second, I have let this craft take me in new directions that I hadn't foreseen

• I did colorwork! and I love it
• I started designing my own patterns - this amazes me mostly because I was always so intimidated to even modify a pattern I was working on but now that I have started I just can't stop!
• I knit for swaps! Loads of fun!

So here are my 2011 goals:

• Write up the patterns that are waiting patiently to be shared with the world (currently three!)
• Knit more socks. I love hand knit socks
• Knit more sweaters. I need more sweaters cause Chicago has loads of "sweater" weather (or deathly chill with a side of frostbite weather)
• NO YARN UNITL SOCK SUMMIT. Well, not counting next week. I'm going to the loopy ewe next week and I'm just not that strong. So after next week NO MORE YARN UNTIL SOCK SUMMIT!!!

But mostly I'm going to see where the year takes me. I hope it includes family, love and friends...

Oh and some red orange juice would be great if anyone knows how to get some.

Happy New Year Everyone! I hop this year is even better than the last...

The pictures are of some of my very favorite and most used FO's

Springtime in Portland

Spring in Portland is beautiful. There is green grass, lush trees and blooming flowers everywhere. But this beauty (as all good things do) comes at a price. Rain. Lots and lots of rain. I'm sure you have gathered from previous posts that I love the rain and that was one of the things I missed most about living in Dubai. I love the sound of rain, the smell and the way is cleans the dust off of everything.

Of course in my memories of rain while sitting in the 100 degree weather in Dubai I had completely neglected to think about the down sides to rain. The traffic, the way it makes your car all dirty and the fact that there are so many things you cant do when it's raining (like go to the Zoo)...

Portland is known for their rainy days and I remember joking with people back in UAE about how we get rain in Portland the way they get sun in Dubai. hehehe. But we finally got a break in the rain and we were able to go for a walk around the neighborhood and enjoy some of the beauty that the rain brings us...

One Month

It has been one month since we left UAE, since we left our home. I find it a little odd that I keep referring to UAE as "home" especially because I never stopped referring to the US as "home" but here I am telling my husband that I miss the red orange juice from home, or that's not how they do it back home, or back home the guy would just come to your house and fix that for 100 AED.

Instead of converting Dirhams to Dollars to find out the "real" price of something like I did when I moved to UAE now I'm converting Dollars to Dirhams. Is $2 for a Coke a good deal? I dunno. But do I know 7 AED isn't!

For the most part our transition has been very smooth (except for the excessive travel) and we really haven't faced too many problems. We're now in Portland where it looks like we'll be based for a while. We have enjoyed spending time with family and the rain (MIXED WITH SNOW!!! Seriously!) We have also managed to get a bunch of the chores done like bank things, visits to the DMV and other oh so exciting stuff that I wouldn't bore you to tears with.

It's great being back in Portland but it's also weird not knowing it as well as I use too - I know how to get to little shop that sells my favorite sandwich but I can't remember the back way I use to take when the traffic was bad. I know there's a Subway around here somewhere I just can't remember exactly where. And even more weird is that everyone expects me to remember things - you don't know how to get there? well you went there 4 years ago!

But over all we're having a blast and enjoying our time together. I'm not sure that it has sunk in that we have no return ticket yet as it still feels like a long vacation. But I'm really missing my friends and (I never thought I would say this but) I really miss the sun. I miss the malls too... in all their excessiveness.

So here's to one month! I know that we will get back in the groove with time and soon home will be a distant memory - but my friends never will be! Miss you guys!

sand to snow

from sand storm...

to snow storm...

how was your week?

Things I learned from living abroad

Patience – I learned to be much more patient in dealing with others. There are just too many cultural differences out here to assume that everyone will do what you expect. Or that when they say something (like “I’ll have it done in an hour”) that it’ll mean the same thing (like they’ll be here in an hour)

Charades – Sometimes the best way to get past a language barrier is to act it out. I (point to self) want (smile and nod) some binders (open and close hands like a book) (more nodding and smiling). In fact this has become such a big part of the way I talk that I find myself acting things out even when whomever I am talking to understands what I am saying perfectly.

Defensive driving – Need a crash course in defensive driving? Come drive here for a week and you’ll be set for life. It is you against the world out here and add to that that everyone is driving close to (or way over) 100mph and you learn real quick how to keep your eyes open and get out of the way. I also learned how to cut off taxis. But they started it.

Equality – We (Americans) might have a long way to go when it comes to equality and treating people fairly but oooh boy have we sure made some progress. It’s not the locals I refer to but just about everyone putting everyone else into a box.

Friends - There are people out there living in the world with the same interests as you and the same likes and dislikes. They talk similarly and just seem to "get" you. I have realized that you can find friends just about anywhere. I know I did! Of course I found the very best ones that could have been found.

Same same but different – We all basically have the same agenda same goals in life. There are things that cross all cultures and all religions. Loving family and food on the table come to mind.

Stereotypes – These are hard to over come and it’s amazing how quickly people decide things about someone else based on very little knowledge -like nationality. I have had to work hard not to give in to this as I think it’s human nature when meeting people from so many cultural backgrounds to want to figure them out before you know them. But I refuse to let a few decide (whether good or bad) how I feel about or treat many.

Passport – When abroad this thing is more valuable than it’s weight in gold. Guard it accordingly and know your rights. It is unlawful for someone to hold your passport so that you don’t have access to it. If you have any doubts or concerns call your embassy. Trust me it works.

Healthcare – Dang it’s good to have healthcare and it’s even better to have affordable medication. If you ever want to know what that feels like then head on over.

Coke is better – I heard it was because of the sugar they use or maybe it’s that you can buy it in glass bottles but it is so good here and just what you want on a hot day.

Acclimating – People are adaptive. I had no idea just how adaptive I could be until I moved here. Take for example that really 110° just isn’t that big a deal to me anymore. Yeah I don’t look forward to it but really I don’t notice it much when out weather gets that hot. Now 30° is just plain scary! I have no idea what that feels like anymore and when I was back home last winter I practically froze! I was cold ALL THE TIME!

Self respect – Like I talked about in my previous post I gained a lot of self respect here and I am a better person for it. Looks don’t last forever but respecting your self does.

Ambiance – One thing I may never have again is a view of the aqua blue sea with swaying palm trees, a nice breeze and a beach spread out before me as I eat my dinner. There is definitely beauty in this desert.

reflections

So we’re down to our final week in the UAE. Everything is coming together and we are getting things set-to-go. Of course there is a never-ending list of things to do that just WON’T STOP getting longer but I know we’ll get there. And if not, well then, I guess it won’t get done cause we are running out of days.

It’s kind of hard to believe that we only have a week left. I always knew this day would come but it was like getting married or graduating college. I just can’t believe it’s finally here. After all the planning, waiting, complaining we are going home.

It’s turning out to be harder than I thought. Saying goodbye to friends and saying goodbye to a pretty incredible place is just plain hard. As I sit, looking over the sea with my coffee and knitting as a nice cool breeze comes through I’m having a hard time understanding why I wanted to get away so badly.

I have been reflecting on my time in the UAE and have realized that living here has been amazing for me. So much of my life has happened in the last three years. I finally became a grown up and started living on my own taking care of my self, I also met the man of my dreams and married him. I got my first “grown-up” job with steady hours and health insurance as well as having to figure out life abroad.

I would never trade this experience for anything and I feel blessed to have lived in the Middle East during a time where this culture is so misunderstood. I know that when I go home I can break people’s stereotypes and misconceptions of how the world lives over here.

Believe it or not but observing the women here has taught me how to be a stronger, more confident woman. They have taught me, through their actions, how to value my self and how to show that, as women, we are more than looks. We don't need to use our bodies to be noticed because we are more than just our bodies. We are just as intellectual, just as strong, and just as capable as any man.

Perhaps instead of looking at being conservative as being oppressive we could view it as a woman’s right to be more than her body but to be her mind.

that's right

we're blowing this hot dog stand and heading home!!!

it's almost too good to put into words... fear that if i verbalize it than perhaps i'll realize it was all just a dream and I'll be planning for another year here in Dubai but seeing as how I have officially bought our tickets home I consider it as good as done or at least as close to certain and I can get.

I think this is the main reason I have been so quiet on the blog lately. This development has been at the forefront since... well... for months! We have been planning, talking, organizing and planning some more. It's taken over. And it's so hard to think of other things or be excited about telling you that I went to Rihana when really I just want to scream I'M GOING HOME! HOME! DID YOU HEAR ME??? HOME! but I didn't want to announce it to the world prematurely so I waited until I was sure. Or at least until I was as sure as I could get. After all I do believe in a "Plan" and sometimes it's not what you planned at all.... i.e. moving here in the first place!

I'll tell you now that we are not planning on going back to my hometown for the long term but as for where we ARE going well you just have to stay tuned and find out.

I'm thinking that the next few weeks I'll be exploring old events that I experienced here, my fears of returning home (I know! Who knew? But I have them) and the things I'll miss about the UAE.... In all seriousness it's a pretty awesome place and I will miss it... kinda.

So now the cat's outta the bag and you know the big developing news that i have been eluding to for a while now. big. sigh. of. relief. and i'm so excited!

Eid Al Adha Mubarak!

Happy Eid Al Adha everyone!!!

Once again I'm a day late - but those who know me aren't so surprised....

Husband and I took off for Dubai Mall yesterday to go watch yet another movie and have a nice lunch together.

As we were wandering around the ginormous mall waiting for our movie to start we heard music... as most would we headed to check out what was going on.

Thats a local (meaning Emirati) dance group doing the tradition dance for everyone. They were dancing because UAE National Day is on December 2nd. They were out celebrating and showing their culture.




It was fun to watch and after about 15 minutes we headed over to the theater to watch Old Dogs with Robin Williams and John Travolta... All I will say is that I haven't laughed so hard during a movie in a LONG LONG time. I will recommend this movie to anyone. ANYONE!

ugh I know I have been a lazy bum and all... I'm sorry! Usually I'm much better about posting than I have been lately... I could give you tons of reasons but I'm not going to. I'm just going to tell you that i don't really have that much to write about right now. At least not anything I'm willing to write about yet. i just need some time to confirm everything before i go and put it on the internet for everyone and their mom to see. But don't worry you'll know all about everything in good time.

I did have some excitement a while ago that Charmaine blogged about here. The knitting group decided to throw Charmaine a surprise baby shower!!! It was so much fun!

And I was even able to get my piping bags dusted off to decorate this cake!
I really forgot how much I love cake decorating. Like knitting I find it quite cathartic to decorate a cake (and eat all the left over icing when I'm done)

Also we have had a couple more meetings since then... One was last week and all the ladies were so sweet and got me a birthday cake and sang to me!! They really made me feel special and I'm sure I got bright red.

That's right it was my birthday last week. What a great time I had this year. My husband truly surprised me which is hard to do and he made the day very memorable. This was also the first year, at my office, where my birthday wasn't during Ramadan so they got me a huge chocolate cake! It was so tasty! So between my family, my husband, my friends and my office I was very spoiled this year and I LOVED IT!

Eid Mubarak Everyone!

I'll be honest and tell you that before I moved to this country I had no idea what Eid was or that there was even such a thing as Eid. I remember sitting with my new friends on campus and them saying that Ramadan started in couple days and we better all get ready.

"Ready?" I asked "I don't even know what Ramadan is!"

"It's the month of fasting and no one can eat or drink out side, in public during daylight hours" my friends replied

Um Sorry? Did I miss understand?
No eating or drinking in public?
Seriously?
No SERIOUSLY!
Oh you are serious
Do "they" (the rule makers) remember that it's like 110 outside?

So I quickly called my new bf to confirm this wasn't some huge joke my new friends were playing on me. He confirmed. I learned once Ramadan started that nearly everyone in this country fasts from water and food (also one would fast from relations, swearing and being short tempered) from sun up to sun downand that it's hard enough with out people drinking and eating in front of them because like I pointed out it's seriously hot here. Although I must add that most people fasting don't really mind if you eat or drink in front of them because, well, no one but their inner resolve is stopping them from going to the fridge and getting their own.

What an experience that first Ramadan and subsequent Eid Al Fitr (celebrating the end of Ramadan) was. We had iftars at friends houses I snuck Cokes in the car as we drove down the streets, and I remember the feeling of charity, celebrations and happiness not at all different from the atmosphere back home in the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Now that my fourth Ramadan has come to a close I have realized just what an important month this has become to me. I look forward to the change in lifestyle and I love and respect how a whole religion and country comes together during this Holy month to work towards the same goals. I know now that both Ramadan and Eid will always be apart of my life.

Eid Mubarak everyone and I hope this holiday greets you in good health.

3 years today

A couple of days ago was my 2 year blogaversary and now I have another anniversary to celebrate already! Three years today I moved to the United Arab Emirates.

THREE

TRES

THALATHA

TROIS

SUN

TRE

THREE eh?

(That last one was Canadian incase you were wondering ; ))

I can't believe it's been three years since I got on a plane and flew literally to the other side of the world.

I moved here just two weeks after I had graduated from the University of Oregon. I had one week to spend moving everything out of my apartment in Eugene and up to my mom's house and then I flew to Washington D.C. and New York for the week. I went there first to spend time with my sister and look for the neighborhood I wanted to move to when I was back from my 4 month trip to Dubai. That's right! I was only ever moving here for 4 months. I just wanted to check the place out and do a little exploring before I started working and living in the "real world"

I remember sitting with my sister in her living room and I said "What temperature in Fahrenheit is 40 degrees Celsius?" 40 is the average temp for Dubai this time of year
She said "I dunno..." and asked her husband
Her husband said "I think it's something like 104 or 105 degrees"
My sis and I looked at each other and laughed.... that couldn't be right. 104 what kind of place has an average temp of 104.
I heard her husband clicking away at his computer and then I hear "Yup 104 = 40"
I think my face fell and that was the moment I first thought to my self "what am I getting my self into"

See I hadn't really been able to think about any of the realities of moving to a far away land that I hardly knew anything about. I was way to focused on graduating. I was working full time and going to school beyond full time. I was taking 21 credits for the last two terms just to make sure I got done (12 credits is considered full time enrollment btw) on time. Someone put the idea in my head that I should check out Dubai and without thinking too long about it I just started planning. School and life was so hard that I was just looking forward to taking some selfish "me" time. I wanted to worry about me and only me.

What's the easiest way to move to a new land you ask? Well for someone whose been a student for the last forever years then the natural conclusion is to go be a student in the new land! I didn't want to worry about a place to live. I didn't want to worry about visas (whatever those were) and I wanted to be at least a little responsible and learn something while I was on my endeavor. So I enrolled my self for the fall semester at American University in Dubai. I enrolled in Arabic 1 and Middle Eastern Politics and that was it. I wasn't looking to get a degree so I didn't need to over load my self. Plus I wanted time to explore and seriously just relax. I had forgotten what it was like to do nothing.

The night before I was to take off from New York for the INSANE flight of 14 hrs my sister pulled out a world map... She said "you know where you're moving right?"
"Oh yeah I'm going the Middle East!" I beamed back at her
"Do you know where in the Middle East?"
I think I met that question with a blank stare...
She said "well just so you know" and she pointed out all the neighbors of UAE to me.

That was the second moment I wondered what I had gotten my self into.... Oh well I had a return ticket I could come back when I was ready. I didn't have to go the whole 4 moths if I didn't want to. I was a grown up now I could figure it out as I went.

When I finally made it to Dubai there were some people waiting for. Not people I had ever met before but people who were family of a friend of mine (later I learned people do this here because we're all expats and we all arrived not knowing anyone). They kindly scooped up all my baggage and hauled me off to get some dinner and show me Mall of the Emirates for the first time. That was the first time I saw men and women in the local dress. For some reason it surprised me. I guess I never put two and two together and realize that this land was "that" land. At the mall I also got my first glimpse of the over indulgence of Dubai. I mean seriously I was having dinner next to and indoor ski resort. CRAZY!

I went to my new little dorm room that I would be sharing with another student from Pakistan who was so nice and showed me all around campus.

Then I was quickly informed of the rules of the girls dorms by the mistress of the house.
No Boys past the security guard
You must sign in and out every time you enter or exit the dorms
You need a form signed by your parents to stay out past nine
You need a separate form signed by your parents to stay out all night

Seriously? Do they know where I'm from? I haven't had a curfew since I was 15!!! I didn't move all the way out here just to have to be home at sunset! I came to explore!
I looked at the lady, sighed, and said well ok I'll send it to my mom and get her to sign this for me I guess (boy did my mom have a laugh about that one)... "How old are you" she demanded. "ummm 25"
"Well lucky for you 25 years is the cut off... no need for a permission slip"
"great" i thought to my self... 25 just barely squeezed by...

I basically slept for the next three days letting my self get over the jet lag. On the 4th day was the first day of class. I showed up to arabic 1 where I quickly realized that arabic 1 was not for people who knew no arabic but rather for those who knew it but wanted to get an easy grade. I realized quickly that I was already behind the rest of the class and we had barely made it through the first hour.

Towards the end of class this really tall beautiful girl with an incredible accent came up to me. She was from Croatia staying here with her father. It was ladies night at most of the clubs the next night and she had a friend who knew all the great places to go to... I should come.

I said sure. It was not my usual to go and hang out with people I didn't know and go to places I didn't know but seriously WHO did I know? No one. She seemed nice and Hey I got lost in New York and survived that I can go out and have some fun in Dubai and survive that too....

So the next night I met up with her at Wafi City and we sat at a tapas bar and waited for her friend.... About 20 min after we arrived he briskly walked through the door waiving absently at the bouncer on his way. I thought to my self... that cant be the guy. Then my friend turned around and said "Hey! He's here!" He walked up to our table and did the three kiss lebanese hello with my friend and then held his hand out to me...

"Hey what's your name?"
"Lindsay" I replied with a smile on my face
"Where are you from?" He asked skeptically
"America" I replied "You?"
"Lebanon... and I don't like Americans by the way"
I smiled, "Well I'm not a fan of the lebanese so I guess we're equal" I retorted in my usual if-you-say-something-about-me-i'll-definitely-say-something-back way.
He smiled.

A year and a half later we were married

So for me, as you can guess, this move was life changing. It was never my intention to be here for three years but life has a funny way of happening when you least expect it. I have been very fortunate that the people around me always help me succeed and have my best interests at heart.

Happy Blogaversary to ME!!!!!!

The 24th of August was my blogaversary! Bring on the party horns!!!!

That's two whole years of blogging about my experiences in the United Arab Emirates. If you read back in the beginning (please don't) you'll notice that I have gotten a bit more comfortable with my writing and have also gotten better at expressing my self. I found it difficult in the beginning to figure out 1. what to talk about and 2. how to say it

I am proud of my self for staying somewhat consistant and actually keeping this thing going.... I was a little worried in the beginning that I would just get tired of trying to keep up with this thing and I would just let it go. But nope! I write a lot. A whole lot! In fact I have realized that I personally gain a lot by keeping this thing going such as:

1. It's like a diary of my experiences while living in the middle east. I only wished I had started it from the beginning and not waiting for an entire year after I arrived.

2. I have made some AMAZING friends through this blog. It's because of this little online diary that I met Charmaine from Abu Dhabi-doo and Sydney from It's always something... and through them I got together with the U-knitted Amrias! My knitting groups has given me even more great friends!

3. I can communicate with my family and friends back home. They keep up on what I'm doing here and, well, what I'm knitting.

4. I find the process therapeutic. Sometimes I write about mundane things like Hot Pink Range Rovers and sometimes I write about things that are really getting on my nerves like banks and I also write about my musings on life.

5. It's a great way to oragnize all the FO's I have gotten done!

6. This thing has some great pics of Oman, Beirut, Dubai and Abu Dhabi! Loads of fun memories.

So thank you blog readers for paying attention to my little ol' blog and following along on the endeavor that is living in the desert and my knitting journey as well... because I really enjoy writing for you!

UAE Dust Storm

One of the things that we expect living in the UAE is that it will be hot in the summer, after all it is the desert. I have talked about the insane heat we get many times on this blog like here and here but something I don't talk about often is another phenomenon we (people living in the desert) have also grown to expect. The Dust Storm (dum dum duuuuummmm)

Some people call them sand storms and others call them dust storms. I like to use this terms almost as if they are classifications of severity of, well, particles flying in the air that will land on everything.

Days after I moved to Dubai we got this insane sand storm that took over everything. It didn't last long but the winds were strong and there was sand everywhere. It was piled up on windshields and ledges like it had just snowed (Portland style not North Dakota style). My new friends and I were chatting while eating lunch at a food court and all the sudden there was no visibility outside. I looked at my friend Nadia and said something along the lines of "Whoa. What is going on?" And she proceeded to calmly tell me that we get these kind of storms a few times a year. "Excuse me? What kind of storm?" as all my new friend chuckled she replied "Sand storms, Lindsay." suppressing her own laugh

We got tired of waiting out the storm so we ran back to our rooms.... I was surprised at how much the sand hurt as it whipped into our faces and also how it managed to get into my eyes even though I was wearing sun glasses. I was dusting sand out of all kinds of places for days. That was a Sand Storm (at least in my book)

The dust storms are more dirty and just annoying. Blocking out our never ending sunshine to give us a brown glowy horizon instead. The dust storms don't hurt and visibility for driving and stuff is still good enough that it doesn't slow you down day to day. They stick around for a day or two and then they are on their way to go create a haze over somewhere else for a while.

After three years in the UAE I have grown accustom to these storms. They come then they go. It's that simple. We endure heavy, dirty air for a couple days then the skies clear up and we dust our selves off (literally) and enjoy the beauty of Dubai again.

So it was no shock that a day or so after Husband and I landed from our trip to the States that a dust storm rolled in. It hasn't been a particularly bad storm really it's just that it won't leave! We have been home for over three weeks now and we still have this dust storm hanging over our heads (again literally). I have been complaining to family and friends back home who have no sympathy for me as they are battling their own heat wave. Which I guess is fair because I was giving no sympathy in return. Seriously we're at 114 degrees and that is cool for this time of year because said dust storm is blocking ALL THE SUN!

I finally ran across this photo (isn't it cool?) of the dust storm we are stuck in the middle (well actually lower middle to right hand corner-ish)... oh yeah it has covered us AND an entire sea! The upside is it looks like we aren't getting the worst of it

Photo courtesy of NASA

Anyways I thought you would enjoy a little glimpse into life in the desert. Plus maybe it will cheer you up about your own excessive heat. Except when y'all have some crazy snow/ice storm this winter and we have perfect 80 degree weather this dust storm will be a distant memory

200 POSTS!!!

This is so exciting for me! I can't believe I have hit the 200 post mark and my blog is just months shy of being 2 whole years old!

I can't believe I have been able to stick with it this long and I can't believe I actually have that much to talk about.

But I do have something to talk about today! I am just days away from vacation. A much needed vacation home for 3 weeks! I feel like a seven year old waiting for her put-put golf birthday party. I am so excited to go to a land of normal heat where people can complain about it being 85 degrees out and my husband and I can scoff at their inability to handle real heat (lets not talk about when we went there in the winter and nearly froze to death in 50 degree weather). We will see green grass and green trees and real flowers that don't stay alive through artificial watering systems that stretch for miles and miles on end. We can see our families and spend quality time with those we love. We can go to "the lake" or go sailing on "the river". We can eat yummy food like Spaghetti Factory, PF Changs, In-n-Out Burger, NY Pizza (Hey! Don't laugh just cause I plan out what restaurants I'm going to visit and diet for 2 months before hand so I can stuff my face and not feel guilty. You know you do it too).

Anyhoo I'm sure you have gotten the idea that I am quite excited for my trip. But I don't want to leave you with out anything to read for 3 weeks so I came up with a plan. As the time unfolds I will reveal all my secret knitting projects because they will all have been giving to their new owners with in the first couple days of my trip. I'm excited to share them because it has been so hard not to post each and every FO I have completed in the past few weeks.

So stay tuned!

It's not hot

It's scorching

Ok ok I know that I talk about how hot it is here a lot but seriously check out my temperature gauge on my car. This was at 11:15 in the morning which means it got hotter! By the time I was cruising down the highway it got up to 117.

I heard rumors it went way past 117 as the day progressed but I was comfortably knitting away inside the cool Abu Dhabi Mall at Starbucks for the WWKIP day (World Wide Knit In Public Day). I didn't take any pictures because I'm just not good at remembering that kinda thing but if you pop on over to the U-Knitted Amiras Blog you can see big group of UAE knitters knitting in public. It was so much fun. We were knitting in public for 6 hours! Talk about a great day!


This is how Princess feels about the heat...

10 things I love about UAE

I'm getting super homesick... It has been a year and a half since I have been to my great country and I'm starting to go a little crazy. But on the plus side I have tickets home for 5 weeks from now. That's right people, in 5 short weeks I will be on a 13.5 hr short flight back home.

I was doing really well with the whole homesick thing there for awhile but I guess planning this trip that in one way seems to be barreling down on us at lightening speed and in another way seems to be taking years to get here has just exasperated a problem that constantly lies right under the surface. Did I mention it's been a year and a half?

So I figured the second prescription that would be given out for homesickness (the first one being to ahem go home ahem) would be to list my favorite things about the United Arab Emirate (I'm including both Abu Dhabi and Dubai because I seem to spend equal amounts of time in both). So instead of focusing on what I don't like all the time let me tell you what i DO like.

10. Go to your local book store, pick up a car magazine and find the most expensive car in there. We see those cars driving around our cities every day. Maybach, we have them; RollsRoyce, everywhere; Ferarris, Benltys, Anstin Martins everyday cars around here. It's so much fun to get to see such amazing pieces of machinery cruising around the roads and parking next to you at Mc Donald's. I never get tired of it

9. Gas is cheap. Seriously gas is $1.60 a gallon. That's it. Ok ok i know the prices in the States have come way down but our gas prices haven't changed in the two and a half years I have been here. I like that. $19 to fill up my V8 sounds good to me!

8. Coca-Cola (and other sodas) are $.25. Oh yeah a quarter for a can of Coke. When's the last time you paid a dollar fifty for a 6-pack?

7. The desert is beautiful. I always thought of the desert as this dry, dusty place lacking life. And don't get me wrong it is dry and dusty but it's amazingly beautiful at the same time. The colors are amazing!

6. And that brings me to the camels that roam the dunes. Seriously I get to see camels on my way to work in the morning. How cool is that!

5. The water. Just look at that water.
Need I say more?

4. We are surrounded by people from nearly every culture in the world all the time. I have made friends from every region and from places I had hardly heard of before coming here. I have friends from Europe, Wales (BTW that's it's own country... learned that here), UK, India, South Africa, Lebanon, Egypt, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Oman.... Seriously the list goes on and on. It's so much fun getting to know all these people and their different customs while also learning that we are all basically the same. We're all just trying to live a good life and take care of our families.

3. AMAZING HOTELS! I will give this place one thing... they sure know how to build a hotel. When you sit with a friend debating the merits of the different 5 star hotels in the country and you end up in a deadlock between 2 or 3 you know you have a problem. AND you know you have been spoiled beyond oblivion.

2. Everyone delivers. I was talking about this with Sydney the other day over lunch. One of the things to miss most about this place is that everyone and I mean EVERYONE delivers. It's way to hot out here to be expected to actually walk or drive places especially during the summer so in order to keep the business I suppose everyone from Mc Donald's to the local Grocer to the Italian restaurant all deliver. It's fantastic! As long as you have a cell phone you will not go hungry or with out bug spray.

And the number one thing I love about the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES IS.......

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1. RED ORANGE JUICE! I know I know a weird number one... We have hotels, we have blue seas, we have camels but have you ever had red orange juice before? It's fabulous. It's this magic middle between the sweetness of orange juice and the bitterness of grapefruit that is just perfect. Perfect I tell you! I drink this like water. In fact my husband knows that it's more important to have red orange juice in the fridge than it is to have Coke in there (those of you who know me, know what a big deal that is) so he keeps my fridge well stocked. I'm sure you can get it in that Sates and other places in the world but I'm sure you can't get Al Rawbi Brand. This one is my very favorite brand. Yum.

Book Fair!

Last night my husband surprised me and took me out for a special dinner Dubai. He took me to a restaurant I have never been to in a hotel I have never been to.

He took me to Ruth's Chris Steak House at The Monarch Hotel in Dubai. I had seen this restaurant in Portland but I had never been before. I must say OMG it was AMAZING.... Let me tell you they had the best ranch dressing that I have had since I have moved out here. You might not be impressed by that but being the ranch dressing lover that I am this is HUGE. The steak was amazing too... oh and the garlic mashed potatoes. Yum. It was fabulous but definitely an only-for-special-(very very special)-occasions place cause it is no cheap place. But over all the waiters were beyond fantastic, the food was fabulous and the atmosphere was cozy but sophisticated. I loved it.

Then today we went the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at ADNEC (the exhibition center). It was great fun and the same as last year.... lots and lots of books written in arabic. I don't really mind this cause it's just a great way to get out and see what's going on around town. Also I'll never turn down being in a room with that many books in it even if they are in a language I can't understand yet. Look at how crowded it was.


Here is one of the many authors that came to the exhibition giving an interview.


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Ok this pic is just for fun.... It's quite blurry so let me tell you what the sign says;
It says "Pheladelfia General Contracting" I didn't want to jump to any conclusions about bad spelling I asked my husband "what does Pheladelfia mean in arabic?" his reaction was a weird look and an enlightening "uh nothing"

Hmmm I thought to my self.... I wonder what the story is behind that one.

30 days! woot woot!

Whew! I have done 30 straight days of posts (I started on Jan 30th) and at times it has been exhausting. I decided to try it out for a few reasons. I wanted to see firstly if I could even do it, I also wanted to see if activity on my blog would increase and I finally I wanted to see what I would talk about....

Looking back I have realized that I have posted more in the last 30 days than I did in the first 6 months of last year! But this exercise has made me realize that there is a happy medium here. Perhaps every other day?

This endeavor didn't go with out it's challanges. I'm not sure if you noticed but my life isn't exactly bubbling over with excitement all the time. So trying to think of thing to post about got a little hard at times. Also there was the great MacBook crash of '09. I was able to continue posting even through this great challenges and I think I am a better blogger for it. Ok, not really, but it sounds good right?

I enjoy blogging it's sort of like an outlet for whatever is going on in my world and also a to keep my family and friends up to date on my life at the same time. There are so many memories from my time here in UAE captured on this blog and it means even more to me now that I have lost my hard drive and lost all the pictures I had taken in the last 3 years.

I enjoy going through my own posts about different knitting projects I have worked on or different fun things I have done with my husband. I also enjoy sharing these memories with you! Although I gotta say at our first U-knitted Amiras meeting I think we were all a little surprised out about how much we already knew about each other just through reading our blogs!

So thank you for putting up with my endless posts in the last 30 days. I may cut back on my post now... but only a little.

My Drive Home

My Drive Home

By Lindsay

I had a decent day at work today in Dubai. Not too stressful but not too slow. Just got things done as one at work usually does. I left the office at my usual time to head home to Abu Dhabi. So I made my way across the street. The fun of crossing the street (as some of you who have stopped by know) is that it s quite similar to an obstacle course where one needs to dodge heavy equipment, ditches and cars all at the same time. Really it's just pain good fun. Oh and I do this in high heels might i add.

I finally made it through the battle field, oops, I mean street, to my car. I spend nearly 10 minutes trying to back out of the parking spot because a little white civic parked illegally behind me. Either side of me were two SUV's parked in just a way that I was squeezed in the middle with out much room to maneuver. Now the fun (if you will) of the civic's faux parking spot was that it was just far enough to give me hope that I could eventually get out but just close enough (especially considering the cars on both sides of me) that I actually couldn't get out unless I wanted to add some customized body work to my, his or probably both cars. I was about to key or rather leave, a kind note on his car when he came strolling out to his car where he proceeded to slowly get in. This may surprise some of you but it occurred to me to voice (yell, scream, shout) my unhappiness with his parking space but I thought that I was perhaps not in the best frame of mind to do this in a civilized manner and I really wanted to go home.

I finally get on to the road (whew). I turn up the radio and start to relax. Now I can just GO HOME. Oh wait, I need gas. Yup as I have to do every other day, I needed to stop for gas. I of course head for my favorite petrol station where the guys all know what I want before I roll my window down... It's crowded when I get there so I wait patiently in line for my turn to come up. I'm in no rush and I can wait like everyone else. The first spot opens in the 2 car bay but my car wont fit between the two pumping cars in the back to get up to the front spot. Again I think "it's ok I can wait." But the guy in the white Landrover, he can't wait. He's VERY important so he drives around all the waiting people and backs into the front spot. :::sigh::: So at that precise moment the second car pumping in the line finishes up and is ready to go. "Yay!" I think to my self "now I can get my gas and go!" but White Landrover Guy has parked diagonally so that no one behind him can pass including the car who just finished up in the spot I want. Yes people, we all got to wait for White Landrover Guy! He's just THAT important.

I finally got my gas and started to head out of the gas station where I was promptly cut off by a Gold Landrover with his hazards on. Ok my fault for not seeing that one coming (not really but I'm trying not to explode in my car) so I head for the highway where I start making the drive home. Fortunately outside of a little high beam assault (where the guy behind you flashes his high beams at you until you move wether you can safely move or not) the drive was quite smooth.

At least it was smooth until I got to the exit for my house. I took the turn trying not to get squished by a semi, but I'm use to this so no prob. I head straight and that's when I see a bus transporting laborors on the side of the road. "huh" i think to my self, "i wonder why they are standing so weird facing the road?" That's when I figured out that these men, GROWN MEN were relieving them selves FACING THE ROAD!!!! Seriously?? This was the best place they could find??? They couldn't go behind the bus or better behind the building that they were parked next too?!?!?! Thankfully I didn't see anything that made me want to poke my eyes out with the bic pen I keep in my purse. I just looked forward and sped away.

I take the next turn where I'm nearly side swiped by a car because I'm not going over the speed bump fast enough for him. He nearly hits a guy on his bike but that doesn't seem to slow him down. Nope. It would be the bike's fault if he got in the way of the ginormous SUV driving on the wrong side of the road, not the SUV driver's fault.

At this point I'm exhausted. I finally make it home with out further incident, but it's the United Arab Emirates and that's an accomplishment in it's self. I parked and dragged my self into the house where I have been doing some knitting therapy working on my February Lady Sweater ever since.

True story people. I had to share because it's too unreal to believe to those of you living far far away... and for those of you living here, I thought it would be nice to commiserate with someone.

The moral of my story is that you can either laugh or cry and sometimes choose to shout. Today I laugh!

The End.