This is NOT the Kentucky Derby - Camel Racing In the Desert

Since arriving in Dubai I have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to see camel racing.
The camel festival is currently going on in Dubai, which includes camel racing. Yeah, I am finally  going !
Me and 5 of my new friends ventured off for a day at the races, about 45 minutes from the city, into the desert.

This is not like a day at the races at the Kentucky Derby. Certainly not ! No grand fan fare, no women dressed up in their best clothes and no fine dining. Camel racing is simple, unique, gritty and the sounds and smells are just what you would imagine. As we got closer to the race track, camels were everywhere.
Packs of camels were running with Bedouin trainers as they were being warmed up with on a separate race track (in the picture above), others were being led around carrying things on their backs, while hundreds of camels stood around patiently waiting for their time to race.
Interesting fact, the Bedouins trainers sit behind the hump of camel to ride them. It is almost comical watching a rider on a camel when the camel is running. The riders arms and legs are flying and flapping all over.

As we walk up to take a picture all the camels turn to look at us - almost instantaneously. It was almost like they were saying, "take a picture of us, aren't we amazing!"  Camels are amazing and we snapped several shots. Even when camels are standing still, they are snorting, growling, making disgusting camel noises.

We decided to stroll over to the grandstand and take a closer look at the actual racing. The grand stand area is simple, dirty and stark. A cement grandstand with bleacher type seating. In the stands we find a couple hundred Bedouins, camel trainers and other men wearing kandura's sitting around watching the races on an old school television. It is surprising on how advanced Dubai is, that we would see an old TV. There are also quite a few Bedouin trainers sitting on the grass, waiting for their camel to complete their race. Everyone is so calm.

The camel race track is 3- 4 miles around. Once the camels leave the start gate the people in the stands watch the little TV until the come around within view again. Once you know the camels are on the home stretch, the race track livens up -it is now all a buzz. While the current camels racers advance to the finish line, we hear a call for the next set of camel racers. The call is muffled and the english poor, but we think we heard,"Get your camels in the starting gate that are next to run". The race track seems a little disorganized and chaotic but we love it.
This is pure camel racing  magic. The cost to get in...FREE!

There is nothing else to do or see here - just camel racing. No shops,  no food ( that I can see ), no person trying to peddle their wares - just plain and simple camel racing, which is quite refreshing. It is also very obvious, the six of us, all women, are also among the few women at the camel race track today. We can count the number of women here at the races on both hands. Men are definitely minority.

A shout goes up, " All camels in their places."Another race is about to begin, the next set of camel racers are in starting position - but wait one of the camels is turned the wrong direction ( see picture above) but no one seems to care and the race begins. Everyone in the stands get up and watches the camels take off. The men are pressing against the worn red railing cheering the camels on to run. "Faster, run faster", the men are yelling and shouting and occasionally using the camels name. Did I really Barney yelled out ?

In about 15 - 20 minutes you can hear and see the first camels coming up the home stretch. Long, lanky legs everywhere, like a thundering herd. Camels can run a long race at about 25 -30 miles an hour and a short race at about 40 miles and hour,

Here comes the winner, electronic jockey in tow. The camels seem to know they are coming up to the finish line and they lunge forward, lips and tongues rolling back, flapping in the wind and their muzzles are covered in frothy spit.Yeah ! We have a winner.

Human jockeys fell out of favor in the mid 2000's when the use of small children under the age of 18 was banned by the UAE government. Almost too odd and weird to explain are the small electronic jockeys that are riding on their backs. As the camels sprint to the finish line the electronic jockey makes a last push with its crop. The electronic jockey is, operated by remote control, it can tug on the reins and whip the camel.

Even more astonishing to watch are the crazy camel owners who race on the inside track along side their camels, all of them in their SUV's, many of the owners are perched on top of the vehicles roof.  As the camels race,  the owners seem to be racing one another in their SUV's, yelling the camels name and making strange noises at their racer. Do the camels understand what the owners are saying ? Do all the noises and the yelling really help the camel race faster ? We are told that the owner of the fastest camels are going to win an outstanding prize today. What could it be ? We are told, "most likely a luxury car or luxury SUV. "

Today there is one camel race after the other. How many races today we ask, "Insha'Allah 15 this morning " we are told.  The camel races start early in the morning and go until 5:00 P.M. in the afternoon. The camel racing season runs from October - April.

This is definitely not the Kentucky Derby, but good ole camel racing in Dubai desert. With all of Dubai's glitz and glitter, it is so fun to see down to earth, dirty and smelly. Can't wait to come back .

Oh , I almost forgot...we got to see a one day old camel. So cute. Both the mother and baby camel were for sell as a buy one mama camel, get the cute baby camel for free. Only 5000 AED ( @ 1350 USD). Cutest camel face I had ever seen.

What Floor is it On - the 58th ? Yikes !

I love the serviced Hotel Apartment Jeff and I have lived in since we arrived in Dubai, but it time to move.
Some of my friends say, "are you crazy, you have everything done for you" - " you never have to lift a finger".  OK ,I agree, I am a little crazy to give all of this pampering up. More than anything, I really want my own place and need to be able to make it our own.

Apartment shopping in Dubai is not an easy task. It is literally a full time job and tries your every nerve.
If I even tried to explain some of the crazy rules of apartment leasing you would never understand, so I will not bore you with all of that. But I will say, that landlords would prefer to have their apartments sit empty then lower the price even the slightest and be realistic, in the ball park. The apartments will be left to sit empty for a year or more, until eventually someone will come along and pay the price they want. Makes no sense to me.

Question #1: Should we rent an apartment or a villa?
We choose apartment. Villa's are too big for only two people and if I had a villa I would want to fill it up with lots of "stuff" and furniture. I already have a house full of "stuff" in the US, I don't need another one.
I have lived in a house my whole married life. Lets do something different.

Question #2: Should we look for our new apartment on the sea side or desert side ?
Another hard decision but the sea side won. It is more expensive to live on the sea side and you don't get as big a place for the  money  but if you  get an apartment with a sea or marina view -stunning ! Another plus is having the beaches close. The sea side also puts you closer to the heart of Dubai, all the action.

Question #3 Is the new apartment close to Jeff's employment ?
We decided to stay close to Jeff's employment on the sea side. Traffic at 6:00 is ridiculous and if you are too far away or have to travel on Sheikh Zayed, getting home can be impossible.

The field is getting more narrow....and the winner is ...

We picked the Dubai Marina Area.

The first time we laid our eyes on the Dubai Marina area, we fell in love.

Above is a picture of some of the skyscrapers in the marina or "towers" as they are called in Dubai.
Our new home is the tallest in the picture - the Princess Tower. The Princess Tower also wears a crown.  How about that ? I am going to live in a tower that wears a crown everyday.

Our agent took us to the Princess Tower, newly opened and currently claims the official Guinness Book of  World Record as the tallest residential tower in the world. Wow, I am impressed and as you can see it is very tall.

The lobby was impressive and the number of elevators - there were many ! With 101 residential floors, they need a lot of elevators. Nimfa said, "we need the elevator that will take us to the 58th floor."

Did I hear her correctly, the 58th floor ? ! That is so high from ground level. Did I tell her I was a little nervous about heights? I must have forgotten to mention that little fact about me.

Here we go. The elevator was so fast, our ears popped as it rushed to the 58th floor.

I asked the agent - "if we have a fire, then what?" She replied so calmly , "you would take the stairs'. OK then, no problem , 58 flights of stairs, I can do that as I consider myself to be fairly fit. She continued, "the building is made of cement - it will burn slow". Oh , I thought , that really does not comfort me any better.

The apartment is charming, the kitchen has all new stainless steel appliances - no one as lived it this apartment before - the view is unbelievable. The view is of the sea and the Palm Jumeirah . As residents we have access to a function room on the 97th floor that we can use for parties, as well as countless other amenities. One of our favorite places in Dubai, the Marina, is a short 2 minute walk. Am I dreaming ? Pinch me now.

We will move in @ 1 week and could not be happier. I feel like we are living in the clouds - wait, I will be.  But will I ever have another chance to live on the 58th floor of the tallest residential building in the world? Probably not !

We now have a second bedroom, with a bathroom . Soon to be open for visitors...any takers? You now have a place to stay. 

Oh My Gosh ! I Think I Am Going to Cry

I had heard that a new Park and Shop was opening in the Green Community in Dubai but I had not yet seen it for myself. Besides, it was too far from my apartment to really enjoy or frequent. I was afraid if I visited it once I would be hooked. It is probably best to stay away.

There it was - the new Park and Shop coming up on my left. It was huge. I had to slow my SUV down and almost stopped in the middle of the road.  As I very slowly drove by and gawked at the new Park and Shop, I thought to myself..." If I wasn't late already for lunch at a friend's villa I would stop." A taxi driver honked at me to speed up and brought me back to reality. OK , later....on the way home.

The lunch with friends was fabulous but I could not wait to visit the new Park and Shop.

I walked through the temporary front door - OH MY GOSH ! It was heaven !! I stood like a statue, motionless and took it all in. It even SMELLED like a super store, full of items I love.

I had forgotten how much I loved super stores. Strange to say, but I felt like crying. Tears of happiness. There is not another store in Dubai that carries this many American products. I was overwhelmed with the selection of cereal and "real" Oreo's were stocked on the shelves - even double stuff.

A few other stores in Dubai give a good effort but nothing like this. Park and Shop is the winner ! Two floors of sheer, utter, happiness.

At any moment I was waiting for one of the employees to walk up to me and say, "please stop touching all the items miss."  They didn't say anything. I was left alone in my bliss. I am pretty certain I was not the first American to be in that store behaving like I was behaving. It was like being a kid in a candy store. I wanted to buy everything, even things I did not need.

Loved, loved, loved it ! I am now hooked and I will be back, even if it is a 30 minute drive out in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks Park and Shop.

365 Days in Dubai !

Yeah ! One year in Dubai. 365 days later ....

Seems like yesterday I was preparing to leave the United States and re locate with my husband to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for three years. It is hard to believe the time has flown by so quickly.  

Sad, anxious, nervous, excited, happy, concerned and many more feelings that I had never experienced or had not experienced for a long time all wrapped up together. I was a nervous wreck on what life would be like, what would I eat, how would I make friends, what if I hated it? 

So what have a I learned, experienced and how have I changed. 

Every day, I still cant believe we are living here.
When I see camels grazing on the side of the road, I still pinch myself as reminder we are not home.

 I have found it to be easy living in Dubai. As long as you behave, mind the rules and accept who is at the top of the food chain...life is great.
Things are the way they are - you can't change that. They are....because they can. Accept that and you will be able to thrive in Dubai. Fight it and complain, you might as well go home. You will never enjoy your time here. I have been pleasingly surprised that I like living in the middle east, even with all of its quirks and oddities.

There are so many things that I really like ...the white sandy beaches, the smell of spice in the air, all the mix of cultures and people, the stunning architecture, the old souq's, tall skyscrapers and the shopping malls.

Malls in Dubai are not like malls in an other country in the world. Malls in Dubai, IE, the Dubai Mall are tourist destinations. You need to see them to truly understand what I am talking about.

My day would not be the same without hearing the call to prayer. Five times daily you hear the call. It echos throughout the city, in the malls, everywhere you may be. With the call comes mostly men running to their neighborhood or the closest mosque to pray. They will stop whatever they are doing to get to the mosque on time for prayer. During and after the call to prayer, the streets can be a little dangerous. People run across lanes of traffic and cars making sudden twists and turns to get parked and inside on time. Cars will sometimes be left in the middle of the road or double parked . I love to roll the window down, turn off the radio and listen. 

My biggest concern one year ago was leaving my family, kids and grand children behind. We have a tight family and like being together. Hopefully, us leaving will give our grown children opportunity to rely more on one another and strengthen their own bonds. But I still miss them terribly - I know for a fact that those feelings will never change. Before I moved to Dubai, I spoke with my children almost everyday. Can't do that now...too expensive.. I miss that more than anything.

My grandchildren are growing fast and we even added one more grand daughter while we have been away. That makes three. When my grand daughter says to me ,"don't go back to Dubai", my heart melts. I can't write about it or I will cry.

I have learned I can live away but it is has not been easy to separate myself from my family back home. I doubt that it will ever get easy. All of them are scheduled to come visit this year and I am looking forward to that in the future.

When I first got to Dubai, no one knew me, my past, my family - I was "Jeff's" wife. That drove me crazy. I used to be a person that had an identity. In 365 days that has changed. People know me. Yeah ! I have a circle of friends and can be social again.

We plan fun outings, IE, camel races, book club, explore Dubai and the surrounding cities and have lunch together. My circle of friends has never been so international. Only a few of them are from the United States and I have learned so much from all them in the short time I have known them. Jeff and I now have places to stay in countries all over the world if ever needed.
You learn to make friends quickly, love easy and accept everyone. I have definitely become more tolerant and accepting and am ashamed at myself for not being more so years back. Take a person out of their comfort zone and they will change.  You view everything differently.

But as quickly as you meet people and grow to love them, their circumstances change and they are gone. Moved home or to another country. Just like that .In Dubai, change is imminent. But I am better from knowing them. But no worries, you will meet another new person and they will be as wonderful as the last. 

Another important fact I have learned after living in Dubai for one year ...nothing here is permanent. No expat can retire here (when you are done working, you have to go home), people come and go all the time and NOTHING is constant.

When I was child, up until I was @ 15, I moved around a lot with my family because my father was in the United States Marine Corp. This Dubai experience has awakened old feelings that I used to feel when I was a child and would move constantly. Always making and leaving friends. You had to be out going and able to make friends easily or you would never survive. Okay, here I am again, 35 years later in a similar situation. 

One year later in Dubai, I am still searching for things ( IE, a crock pot - when ever I ask at store if they have one, I am shown the rice cookers ), food or places that will bring me great joy. Specific stores , IE, Park and Shop and Safest Way  carry American products . They charge ridiculous prices for them but when you find it, you have to have it. It is a little piece of comfort and you cling to familiarity. I could not have been happier when a Cheesecake Factory Restaurant opened in Dubai....now there are two locations. Yippee ! At the first location grand opening , we were the first in line the night it opened and I enjoyed every bit of my meal.
My life would be complete here if Olive Garden Restaurant, Costco and a Target Super Store opened in Dubai! Come on, what are they waiting for ?

I know for a certainty that I do not like the beauty products that are made in Dubai, specifically from Saudi Arabia. Wow, never thought I would ever here myself say that.
I will hoard up on beauty products when I leave home. Hoping they last until I can get back and can re stock. 

I love, love the fresh fruit, plain yogurt and breads, especially Arabian bread that are made in Dubai. The bread as a shelf life of two days. That's it - no preservatives. And the fruit - the freshest and best tasting I have ever eaten.

I would have never in my wildest dreams, imagined that I would be living in the middle east, let alone Dubai. Here I am. I am thriving, making friends, have a daily routine, favorite haunts and store's. I am proud to say I can navigate the city by myself  (the scary driving doesn't even bother me any more) and can drive/ honk with the best of them. Many people that move here never drive, but I knew that I would not happy without a car or drivers license. No question about it, I had to drive. I would make a darn good tour guide - any takers?

Besides the draw back of being so far from home, it has otherwise been an amazing experience for Jeff and I. We have grown as individuals and as a couple and can see the world more clearly - there is a lot more out there than I ever imagined. We love exploring this part of the world.  

I have seen the moon on the other side of the world and it is awesome . I am ready for the next 365 days !

Update - I found a crock pot !!

Update - 4/15/2013....Olive Garden is coming to Abu Dhabi ! It may be an hour drive to get to the restaurant location but it will be so worth it !

Here Comes the Bride

On SKYPE one night, my youngest daughter said to me, "I met someone and we have been on two dates".

OK, I had heard that before and this was coming from the daughter that was NOT going to be wed before she was done with school and had lived life a little. No worries, he would end up like all the rest I told her dad.

Shortly after, in  May 2012, our daughter arrived in Dubai, staying with us for thirty days. The statement " I met someone" I quickly found out, was more serious than we had imagined. I could tell that "he" could be the one. Could this be true ?

Yep, it was true and when she got back to the states, they made it official - they were engaged and getting married at the start of the new year, 2013.

Let the planning of wedding 9000 miles away begin !

I have planned two other weddings, one just being a year prior,  for our oldest daughter, but this one was different. I wasn't home to help as much and I cried when I knew that I would not be home in the states on the day that our daughter went dress shopping. Thank goodness she has two amazing sisters that will be there for her every step of the way and my friends, well, they were awesome, taking care of and looking in on my baby girl as she prepared for the big day, with me off in far away land. I would not recommend that mother and daughter be away from each other - at least not this far - when planning a wedding.

In October 2012, I went home for one month and together we accomplished a lot. It was a whirlwind month of wedding planning/ organizing - wedding showers, making countless arrangements and family time. I even put up the Christmas tree before I left town. I don't know why, but this time it was especially hard to leave the states and head back to Dubai. I felt like I needed to stay.

On Christmas day 2012, Jeff and I were on our way home, excited and looking forward to the next three weeks. There would be an over abundance of family time, wedding festivities and what ever else we could fit in during our 21 days in the United States.

We enjoyed Christmas, heralding in the New Year, sledding, partied with family, friends and our daughters new in law family, finished last minute wedding planning, had a wedding, moved our daughter to San Diego and did an  open house in California. Wow, that was crazy.

By the time we got on the plane to fly back to Dubai, we were exhausted and could finally take a minute to recall what all had transpired in the past three weeks. We were amazed at all we had accomplished and done. The best part was all the time we spent with family and friends.

Most important  - Our baby girl got married !

When did she grow up? When did all of our children grow up ? How did that happen so fast. Don't let me think about it too long or hard because I will cry.

We have had a great time being their parents. We are the lucky ones. Everyone will comment when they find out we raised three girls and one son, "wow, three girls must have been difficult ". "No, not at all", I say. We had a few bumps and issues along the way but mostly we had fun, laughed a lot and loved one another. I  have loved them all as young children and have grown to love them even  more as grown adults. Our children,in  law children, and three beautiful grand daughters are the joy of our lives.

The wedding was beautiful and hopefully all that our daughter imagined it would be. The setting was  spectacular and the flowers outstanding. The morning of the wedding it was 2 degrees. Cold and frosty.

My favorite moment of the wedding was when I was with our daughter in the bride's room alone,  just me and her, helping her get ready to make her grand appearance. I am so happy we had that few minutes of quiet time together. It meant a lot to me.

I guess my life is changing...again...evolving. I no longer have children who need me. With all of our kids married, we have stepped into a new phase of our lives. I look forward to what it brings in the future. Hmm....We are thinking it is time to start traveling - Turkey, Jordan, Italy, England, etc. From Dubai, you can get anywhere in the world quicker, cheaper and we need to take advantage of it before we go back to the states.

This could be fun !

"Show Me A Woman Part" ...

When back home in the United States, friends and family ask me all the time, "is Dubai and the United Arab Emirates a safe country to live in?” Absolutely, I tell them! I feel safe in Dubai and in the 'almost" one year I have been living in the United Arab Emirates, I have found the people living here to be obedient and very little mischief takes place.  There are millions of people living in the United Arab Emirates; the majority of us are expats from all over the world. Dubai is probably the most international cities in the world.

So because of that, you would think....with all the different mixes of people, countries and cultures, there would be a lot more problems and/or issues. In fact it is the opposite - the crime per capita is very low, at times almost nonexistent. The reason ...people are obedient to the laws of the land. In the past year the crime rate has even fallen 24%. Don't get me wrong, there are problems, but definitely not like you hear about in other countries.

The consequences when caught are swift, tough and expensive. Even for minor offensives, you can receive jail time, a heavy fine, deportation or if you are unlucky, all three. Some of the expats think the rules are little "kooky" but if you don't obey them you will find yourself sitting in a jail cell, waiting to be sent home in shame - on the other side of the law.

I was recently at the Dubai Airport waiting to pick up my husband from his business trip to the country of Qatar. I was standing in between the segregated women's and men's waiting areas. A Dubai police officer walked up to me and said, "For your safety you must wait in the women's waiting area". Okay, no problem and off I wandered to stand in the women's waiting area. There weren't very many women standing in the waiting area, maybe 5-6 of us total. The men's waiting area on the other hand was packed - always is.  Right after I walked into the women's waiting area, a man walked in and stood behind me. He must not have been there 1 minute when a policeman walked up the man and said, "You are not allowed in the women's waiting area, go stand with the men." The British man started to argue with the police officer, stating all the reason why he was not moving.

Now, anyone that has been here long enough knows, that you don't argue with the police officer or question why things are the way they are. The Dubai officer then said, "Show me a woman part and you can stay in the women's section" - wow, I had to see this. All of the women in the women's section turned around to see what was going to happen next. The British man continued to argue with the officer and said "I am all man!”  In the next couple minutes two additional police officers showed up. One of the police officers raised his arm and said, "Enough - you have insulted all these women, you are going with us". Oh no, the British man was now in trouble. They hand cuffed him and took him away. Just like that! He probably was taken to jail, booked, fined and possibly deported. Hmmm-he must have forgotten the rules on how to live successfully in the United Arab Emirates.

I would recommend before leaving your country and traveling to another to work or play, you read up on the customs, the rules, the do’s and don’ts.  Do your homework and just because you can do something in your home country it does not mean it is acceptable in another. That is one of my lessons learned in one year being away from my home country.

In the United Arab Emirates it is simple, you only have to follow a few basic rules and life in the United Arab Emirates is pretty easy living. This is what I have found:

• Obey the laws of the country
• No swearing - especially to a police officer
• No public displays of affection (canoodling as my daughters call it). That goes for married and unmarried couples.
• Dress modestly. There are reminder signs of dressing modestly EVERYWHERE, but people just don't get it.
• No co habitation with a person of the opposite sex, which includes no sex outside the bounds of marriage.
• No alcohol consumption - except in designated areas or if you carry a red card.
• No writing of bad checks. You need to keep your accounts current.
• Obey traffic laws, including no running of red lights.
• No drugs allowed - period!

The local newspaper, The Gulf News, runs stories of people that have found themselves on the bad side of the law from violating one or more of the basic rules listed above. It seems a little silly to many and trivial at best, but it is what it is. If you think you won't be able to obey the laws of the country then you better go home, because you will most likely end up being sent home courtesy of your local Emirati constable. Free transportation to the local exit will be included.