Sandance

I have to say that one of the best.....if not THE best thing about living in Dubai, is the fact that my social calendar (everyone's social calendar) is always full. All anyone ever talks about is what brunch they are going to on the weekend, where they are traveling over break, or where they are eating dinner that night. There is just TOO MUCH to do here. It's insane. This past weekend I went to Sandance, which is a music festival on the beach at the Atlantis resort on the Palm island...you know, the PALM! It was amazing. The Fray was the headliner. Anyway, I still think it is bizzare that I am a caucasian, American woman, living in a Middle Eastern country, and I still have so much freedom and flexibility in my life. I can basically do whatever I want....which is not how us Americans view life in the Middle East. Sandance was a great experience, I got to see the Atlantis and meet more random people.....everyone's favorite past time in this town.

Random Things...

I wanted to do one post about all of the random things in Dubai that don't really deserve their own post....so here goes.


Malls: I live in Al Warqaa 1....a suburb of Dubai. Basically, I live out in the desert...no grass...no trees...just sand, mosques, and malls. The malls here are MASSIVE. The Dubai mall actually has golf cart taxis inside for people to take around the mall. It also has a skating rink, aquarium, and entire souk, and every store you've ever heard of. It just got a Cheesecake Factory! I've been to Dubai mall once, and literally the only thing I bought there was milk, haha, no kidding. Every mall has a supermarket, bank, pharmacies, really everything is located in the malls. It's one stop shopping at its best.

Aquarium at Dubai Mall

Inside Dubai Mall

Ice Rink in Dubai Mall

Lots of grocery stores have pork shops for us expats like myself. Notice that the sign says "Not for Muslims."

Driving: I rent a car and split it with another teacher. Driving is pretty ridiculous here. You have to do a million u turns to get anywhere and there are millions of roundabouts. I can get to school on the highway....but I can't get home the same way. It's insane. I once exited the mall at the wrong place and had to drive about 15 minutes to another mall to turn around. That's just the way things are. There are speed cameras everywhere and you are supposed to go online, see what tickets you have, and pay. So far I've been afraid to check.

Food: Whatever you want, it's here. Dubai is such a multicultural place, that everyone's needs are pretty much being met. However, there are many American items that you can't find in the grocery stores.

Weather: There is none. I miss fall. It's still 100 degrees here, but it is a lottttt cooler at night now with very little humidity. When I say a lot cooler, I mean it's probably 85 degrees, which feels awesome!

Coffee Shops: Coffee shops are huge here. In Mirdif City Center, the mall by my apartment, there is Starbucks, Caribou, Costa, some English coffee shop, and a couple others that I don't know the names of. The local men especially like to sit and drink and talk for hours at these places. The sad thing is that most of the coffee shops don't open before 9 or 10 am. Can you imagine if Starbucks wasn't open for people to go to before work in the US? It would be sheer pandemonium. There's a Dunkin Donuts on my way to work, but the freaking place doesn't open until 10. Tragic.


Sorry for the rambling about random things. I'll try to do better next time :)

Dubai Brunch.....Genius Concept

Ever since I arrived in Dubai, people have been telling me that I had to go to a brunch. I thought, awesome, I freaking love brunch! Little did I know that a Dubai brunch is practically a whole day event. Almost all of the hotels have brunches on Fridays. (Keep in mind that we work Sunday to Thursday here. (Awesome on Thursday.....not so awesome on Sunday :) ) Anyway, you have to prepay, reserve a table, and brunches can range anywhere from $50 to $200 and up. I did a $50 one, which was really delicious, and the engagement celebration for a teacher I work with.

Basically, girls are dressed to impress. We're talking going outtttt dresses, heels, etc. This is probably a good idea since most people go to Brunch at noon and stay out all night and well into the next morning. I'm not there yet, but I have no question about my abilities....

I added some pictures of the brunch and can only describe it as a freaking crazy night club with amazing food, all you can eat...and drink.....during daylight hours. It's a weird concept, but I dig it. I imagine it being somewhat similar to a UVA tailgate, hahaha.

People literally do this every weekend. I met a Marine who stopped me in my tracks, yelled "American!!!" (we aren't that rare here, but there are heckkkk of a lot more Brits around) and proceeded to tell me how he did this every single weekend...God bless America. I would liken it to going to a different fancy wedding reception every weekend, in your sexiest outfit, of course. F*U*N!

Here's to my first Dubai brunch....and many more to come!!

Double Decker (Pub, Bar, whatever) We were on the balcony.

Buffet in a Bar....Awesome

Outside View

I spotted a kilt!