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 !