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Abu Dhabi is great it really is, but sometimes I can't help but miss home. I am several thousand miles away from all of the people and things I love most and sometimes it is hard to be away from everything. I miss the little things that I took for granted and may make absolutely no sense to some people. Like I miss Kroger (yes I miss a grocery store- but mostly because everything is in English there), lunch dates with my mom, hockey games with my dad, fun times with friends, my dog, and the familiarity of things. I love being here most of the time, but some days are harder than others and it makes me miss home. So I know that whenever I am finished with this journey and I am back home I will appreciate these things even more than I did before. So today I want all of my family and friends to know that I love you all and I really miss you guys. Thank you for supporting me on this journey and for always being there for me.

Dubai and Sharjah day trip

The Burj Al Arab hotel



Water and light show in Sharjah



This weekend I went and explored the emirates of Dubai and Sharjah. Dubai is very modern and full of ex-pats and tourists, so you tend to forget that you are in the middle east. And Sharjah is way more traditional and conservative. You can't even purchase alcohol in the emirate of Sharjah whether you have an alcohol license or not. It was really interesting to see the difference between the emirates though. In Dubai we went and did a little shopping for spring break at Dubai Mall. After that we went and saw the magnificent Burj Khalifa again. It still amazed me that it is so tall and it seems to go on forever. Also in Dubai we walked around the Madinat Jumeriah Souk and shopping area. This area is for sure one of the big tourist areas of Dubai, but it was so pretty. It is this shopping area that is right near all of the nice hotels in Dubai including the Burj Al Arab which I will never be able to afford to stay in. The souk had all kinds of different shops to UAE souvenirs to a fur coat shop (not sure why you would need a fur coat in the desert). I am also pretty sure that this was the area in Dubai where they filmed some of the scenes for Sex and the city 2, because it totally looked the same. After Dubai we ventured up to Sharjah which is only a few exits away from Dubai, but it took awhile to get there because there was so much traffic for no real apparent reason. We decided to walk along the corniche (beach) area of Sharjah and take in some of the sights. At this point it was night time, but the corniche was so busy because most people come out at night to spend time together. While we were walking along the corniche there was a water and light show going on and so we stopped to watch that. It was pretty cool the way they had the water going with music and all the different lights. It was kind of like watching the water show in Vegas only in the middle east with a lot of people in abayas and kandouras around. It still amazes me that this is my life right now and that one day out of the weekend I can just drive to Dubai and experience all of this. I am making memories that will last a lifetime and I will for sure remember this past weekend.

The Madinat Jumeriah Souk

Sandy days

At the camel races with an adorable camel and the man who was taking care of him

Sand on my car from the storm

Well I am back to the blogging world and I am sorry that it has been so long since my last update. Things in Abu Dhabi have been really busy since coming back from winter break. Since coming back I have moved into my new villa, attended my first camel race, discovered that there is a lot of sand in the desert, and fully planned my Spring Break 2012. So as you can tell I have been crazy busy. School has its good days and its bad days. My relationship with my Arabic co-teacher is getting stronger each and every week and honestly she is really funny. The other day she was asking me for relationship advice for her and her husband and she is always cracking jokes. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful co-teacher. My students are still a bit wild at times, but they are still kids and they still enjoy the most simple of things. For example the other day I taught my students a song called "Hurry Hurry drive the fire truck" and in the song the kids get to make a siren noise after some of the parts and my class just loved it. They kept saying again after we would sing it and some of my students would just come up to me randomly and say Miss Melissa and then make the siren noise. It just proves to me that no matter where I am in the world or how little English my students know I love teaching and seeing that excitement in a child's eyes.

Another thing that I have discovered about living in the desert lately is that there is a lot and I mean a lot of sand. You might be saying well yeah it is the desert dummy, but sand just gets everywhere. We have been having a lot of strong wind lately and that kicks all of the sand up and makes it like a hazy sandstorm. When you walk outside in this type of weather you just get sand in your hair, in your mouth, and you feel it in your lungs. Yuck it just makes you feel all grimy. I knew that I was moving to the desert and that they had a lot of sand, but I just never thought of how the sand gets everywhere. Today we had one of these sandstorms and it lasted all day long, we couldn't really even go outside because it was so bad. My car was parked inside of my car park and it was still completely covered in sand. Yuck!

Sand and more sand

Now the next thing that I am counting down too is Spring Break 2012! I can't wait it is going to be absolutely amazing. I am going to Greece and Egypt for spring break with my friends Katy, Briar, and Nancy. These girls are such amazing friends and I cannot wait to share this trip with them. So first we are going to fly into Athens and spend 2 nights in Athens seeing everything- Acropolis, the Parthenon and anything else we can fit into our schedule. After Athens we are going to Santorini for 3 nights. Now I have wanted to go to Greece for pretty much all of my life and when I think of Greece I picture Santorini. We are going to see the beaches, the volcano, and the amazing sunsets (sunrises too- if I'm up that early, but we all know that I never am). After Santorini we are going to Mykonos for 2 nights and then we are flying from Mykonos to Athens and then from Athens to Cairo, Egypt. We are going on a 4 night tour in Egypt where we will get to see everything the pyramids, the sphinx, the Nile river. This is going to be a trip of a lifetime and I am so excited. Oh and the best part is that it's super cheap! Living on this side of the world makes it so easy to travel places. Okay well that is all for now, but I promise to keep you all updated more often. I love and miss everyone very much.

I finally have a house in Abu Dhabi!

So the day has finally come- I have a house in Abu dhabi finally! I will be sharing a villa with my friend Maria in a town called Ruwais in the western region of Abu Dhabi. It's a four bedroom villa with a lot of space and tons of closet space, which is amazing for me. I am so excited to move in to my new place and begin this new phase in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi 2012

My new car!

After a wonderful three week break away from Abu Dhabi visiting my amazing family back at home. I am now back in Abu Dhabi for a new year and a new school term. 2012 is for sure to bring many exciting adventures and new experiences. The first exciting thing to happen is that I now have a car in Abu Dhabi! I am renting a 2012 brand new lancer. It is such a nice feeling to have a car again and be able to have my independence back. I am obviously still figuring out how to navigate my way around in a foreign country, but hopefully I will get the hang of it soon. Oh an one of my main resolutions for 2012 is to update my blog more often, so please be patient with me. I promise that I am working on it.