**Illness, part 2**

Since karma has a great sense of irony, once I posted that blip about how much I hope that I do not get sick over here..... now I have the flu. Or a bad head cold. I cannot tell. I can barely stand and I have missed 2 days of work. What a slacker I am!!

On the bright side, I must say that I am very happy about the RED SOX winning the World Series (even though I cannot watch American sports as they come on at like 1-3am in the morning)!!
And that very few people have bothered me while I am resting. I have also enjoyed the surge of email! I miss you all so much!

Besides the germ infestation of my body- I got nothing going on. Once I get back in the saddle (last week was not the best performance this world has ever seen from me), I promise to do something fun and write about it. Also, I am trying to figure out a way to post pictures- lots of pictures and videos- for you all to see without becoming some sort of YouTube Freak that you see on a Vh1 Show. More to come....

I heart my Bus Pub

For a Muslim country, they are surprisingly down with the drinking. This is ideal for me! It is one of my most favorite activities. There are many restaurants, a grocery store, and a PUB in my hotel complex. The Double Decker, now nicknamed The Bus by my former roommate, The Hot Nutty Irishman. After a long day on the construction site, I like to have a drink. During the week, The Bus hands these out to the ladies:

Since my JD and ginger ales are not included, my roommates will buy my drink and I will get their beers with my tickets! I love this system.

The first time we were working this out, I went to the bar to buy a beer and it was not included as well. I tried to pay for it but random patrons at the bar insisted that they pay for it. Normally, I do not turn down free drinks. However, this drink was not for me. I was not sure how the men at the bar were going to react to finding out that they were buying a guy; not me, a drink. So, in true college style, I thanked them, took a few sips of the beer while talking to them and then, returned to the table and made the recipient hide the beer while he drank it. The Hot Nutty Irishman did call me a tart but I am OK with that since he is still drinking the beers I get him. I am nothing if not a classy broad.

Road Trips!

So, if you can imagine a place where your commute to work can change during the time you are at work, you can imagine Dubai. Driving here is a challenge because you have to accomplish it without the normal tools. I use maps, Google Earth, and co worker's advice daily and still manage to get lost ALL THE TIME.

I have been here almost 6 months and have been driving since August. Today, I went to the Post Office. It took 2 hours to find it. Once I figured out where it was, got my package (PS: THE CAMERA HAS ARRIVED), fought with customs, and drove home, I found that it should have taken me 15 minutes in midday traffic for me to get there!!

The roads here change so quickly that none of the maps are up to date. Basically, you have to identify landmarks that determine when you have gone too far. None of the roads make sense and there is no universal way to build exits. Some of them are what Americans would expect; the clover leaf. Here, even if it looks like a clover leaf, sometimes the leaf is not a smooth curve and suddenly, you have to turn sharply. It is almost like they plan it as they build it and adjust for miscalculations at the last minute.

Now, this may seem hilarious to you but let me assure you that I am improving. My roommates and I went to the liquor store before Ramadan to stock up and with 2 navigators and maps, it took us 8 hours to make a trip that should have taken 2 at the most. I always pack water now on road trips to squelch my fears of dying in the desert!!

Little Things

So, I am still amused at small differences here. Most of these things consist of the fact that this country caters to English speakers but is still Arabic to the core. Things that seem like they should be English... especially American things.... still throw me at first. For example: It also opens on the opposite side, since Arabic is read from right to left! (During my cultural training, I passed by referring to this as the opposite of Western reading, as opposed to the "wrong direction" - a common mistake of Western business persons!!) Now, I will be getting my Rosetta Stone for Arabic at the end of this week. I am hoping that magazines are still written at a 4th grade level so I can read the article with such inflammatory pictures below (also the reason that this entry does not have child-friendly **s): I would not presume to understand the politics of this region fully but I would think that they would hire a PR rep to help them understand what images would get a reaction out of people. Any American living in the Middle East is not going to be super happy with this. The cover story is about the gun problem in Iraq so I would be interested to see how this is tied into burning the American flag. I will keep you updated as I get the article translated!

**I am an Auntie**

Big news!! I am an Auntie Kate yet again! One of my most famous and infamous drinking buddies from college has settled down and welcomed his first son to our happy family of misfits! Junior came to us on the 13th of October- happy and healthy. I was so excited that I did not ask for normal vitals associated with babies but he was around 6 lbs. Currently, he is resting at home and his new dad has started to read him The Wall Street Journal- no need to put off his education!

Congrats to the new baby! You have fallen in the correct place as my most favorite thing to do is spoil my honorary nieces and nephews!! I heart you already!

**Every 60 days!**

So, I am here in Dubai on a visitor visa. This is good for 60 days at a time. That means that until I get my residency visa, I fly out of the country every 60 days and then fly right back. This wastes about 3-4 hours of my day but is always an interesting adventure. The first trip to Doha, Qatar: This trip was in the morning and allowed me 2 extra breakfasts, in addition to the one I had at home! However, since I look like trouble, I was detained in Doha. I am still not sure what happened. I arrived, checked in for my next flight and they told me to sit down and wait. They took my passport and boarding pass to the desk. I waited. They argued in Arabic for awhile. I went back up to ask what the problem was. The 2 security guards escorted me back to my seat. Ironically, my IPOD was playing "Bombs Over Baghdad" by Outcast. I changed it in case they were watching me that closely with bionic ears! Everyone got on the bus to take them to the plane. I repeated my inquiry above with the same result. Now, I am 3 minutes away from scheduled take off time and they return my paperwork with no explanation and send me to the plane. I have the worst luck! The second trip to Muscat, Oman: I thought that Doha was a crap airport. It is super compared to Muscat. Muscat seems to fit my idea of what a Middle Eastern airport would look like.... it is in the desert with industrial buildings surrounding it. There are about 8 gates in the entire place. I checked in at my return gate and there was some discussion regarding my passport. Then, the lady asked me to fill out a survey about the airport. In an effort to avoid another "incident," I asked her for a pen to fill it out. She said that she didn't have one. On principle, now I cannot fill out the survey. I had a pen in my bag but if your job is to get people to fill out surveys, you should have writing utensils. Not to mention, you are at work, there is nothing in that desk. She didn't understand. I sat down and kept the survey. On the way home, we received this sticker with our headsets: I was unsure where you were supposed to stick these. I thought about the forehead, shoulder, etc. Then, I turned it over and realized that I am not the only retarded person. Apparently, enough people are stupid so there needed to be picture instructions, like IKEA: My next adventure is coming up later this week. Hopefully, y'all won't see me on the news!!

**Extreme Driving**

Let me say that I LOVE DRIVING IN DUBAI. It is like driving in DC when there are only tourists and people from Maryland on the roads.... but with no rules or blinkers. The only rule is that if you make eye contact with anyone, that is the signal for them to merge. So, you continue to drive with blinders and expect everyone to cut you off with no warning and lots and lots of honking. In addition, safety is NON EXISTENT. There are no seat belt rules and all children stand in the back of their parents cars as they talk on their cell phones and chain smoke. I don't even know if they know what a car seat is! Its madness!!

Now that I have set the scene, I must say that I was much better when I was driving the beater car. Yes, it smelled and there was some sort of stick on tinting on the back window that rendered it useless, but with the new car, I am a little too scared to be as aggressive. I got this Focus with 77km on the odometer. Being American, I have no idea how much that is but I have never had a car under 100 anything. Hell, I don't think I have had anything under 20,000 anything.

Since the most common question I have received since I got the car has been: What are you going to do when you get caught *fill in with speeding or any number of driving offenses.* Well, I would like to remind everyone that I am a very good driver. Despite Dubai not understanding the traffic circle or the use of speed bumps, they have the speeding under control. They have cameras everywhere. Actually, they have camera boxes everywhere. Only some of them have cameras and during the day, they won't flash either way, so you generally only speed if you can afford the fines. The fines accumulate and you pay once a year when you renew your registration. There are no points unless you do something to actually make the police pull you over. I don't know what that would consist of but my manager was able to do it and land a nice "driving recklessly" ticket. Mad props there!!

I am sure with the new wheels - y'all can expect a whole bunch of road stories. I am so much trouble!

**Ramadan Karim!**

OK, so Ramadan just ended here (actually, everywhere, I guess). For those of you who do not know (like myself), Ramadan is the holy month of the Muslim calendar. It follows a lunar cycle and involves fasting (no water or food) during the daylight hours, no smoking, and generally acting well for a month to sort of set yourself up for the rest of the year. Most religions have something similar so you can self-evaluate once a year. However, I jumped into the deep end since I got to celebrate my first Ramadan in a Muslim country.

On the first day of Ramadan (and with my usual "sensitivity"), I committed a faux pas. Luckily, I have prepared everyone with my stupid question and dumb jokes since April... so I was cut a little slack. Since the appropriate greeting is "Ramadan Karim" (pronounced "Ka-reem"), everyone was using this. A coworker said it to me and since Kareem is a name in the US, I asked if all the Ramadan's were named.... like hurricanes. I feel this question was justified and sadly, they just laughed at me. Fortunately, I can use Google and found that it means "Generous Ramadan" as it is a month where all Muslims are supposed to help those less fortunate than themselves. I hope my mistakes save you all some embarrassment. It is too late for me... obviously!

Over the month of Ramadan, I was lucky enough to be included in many Iftar's - the daily meal Muslims eat when they break fast at sunset. Everywhere has Iftar specials. I mean everywhere - from the fancy hotels to Pizza Hut and KFC! I will be posting pictures as soon as I get an appropriate picture host!

My favorite "commercial" aspect of the month was the universal need for car salesman to use a holiday to sell cars. On the radio, there were tons of commercials starting, "Celebrate the holy month of Ramadan and make it memorable for your family by coming to Al-Whomever's Auto Sales and get zero down on a new BMW!!" I almost drove off the road; I was laughing so hard!!

Now, that Ramadan is over and we are back to normal hours of work and there is no dehydrated road rage on the commute home every day, Eid Mubarak (Happy Eid Festival marking the end of Ramadan)!!

**Illness**

As a general rule, one can get all western items here in Dubai. The UAE is very liberal in its Muslim rules and has made many efforts to accommodate tourists. However, when you get sick here, it is a different story.

I have not gone to the hospital for any ailments yet. I am not sure how sick I would have to be to do that but everyone I know who has gone has had no problems. And, the pharmacy does not have the same regulation as they would in the US so they will sell things like antibiotics over the counter. Being a firm believer in drugs, I support this in some cases.... like if you call a doctor and they tell you what to get. I, personally, have no idea what to ask for so this perk is not so helpful to me.

For all of you who are immediately planning your trips to Dubai to stock up on restricted drugs, stop. They do not have pain killers available anywhere but in the hospital. No one holds up the pharmacy for Oxycontin here. However, that is not what I have an issue with
.... there is no NyQuil here. None. It has alcohol in it so they do not sell it. And they do not sell it in the liquor stores either! This is unacceptable. That is my one tool to fight colds and continue my normal life.

I did get a cold here initially and this is what one of my coworkers gave me for it:
I was too scared to open it (hence the glare from the herbs still inside), let alone take it. The label reads, "CENTURIES OLD HERBAL TEA FOR FLU, COUGH, COLD, CATTARH, IRRITATION OF THROAT AND FEVER IN INSTANT FORM. USAGE: DISSOLVE ONE PACK IN A CUP OF HOT WATER OR TEA AND SIP SLOWLY USE THRICE A DAY"

Umm, no thanks! I am not taking this "thrice a day" for something that cures everything!! Let's all pray that I never get a real cold here.

**Desert Madness!**

"So, no postings for a month, right?

I know, I know. I have been busy and a little homesick.

That is no excuse. People want to know what is going on with you. You could be dead and no one would know. Tell us what is going on!"

Above is a summary of all the emails and voice mails I have received over the past couple of weeks. I have cleaned up the language for the younger audience but message received. Here we go:

1) Quick update:
- New Camera has been ALL OVER THE WORLD. Expected delivery date will be Monday. Pictures will be loaded to Webshots for your viewing pleasure (as soon as I work out the kinks & actually take pictures.)

- The Promotion is finalized and official. I have successfully negotiated and received approximately half of what I asked for (not to be confused with "what I am worth" but all in time, grasshopper)

- They leased me a car. Heh. This will be the topic of many posts in the near future. Currently, I am driving a beater Civic while I wait for the new Focus to arrive. Expected Sunday but we will see.

- It is currently the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan. Ramadan Kareem for all Muslims who may read my page. (It could happen - some people think I am interesting).

-Mad props out to my niece who just joined the Brownies (so I have the cookie hook up for those of you in need of a fix) and my nephew who just moved up 13 places in his National BMX ranking. They are perfect and obviously take after their aunt!


Now, the postings will come more often. Sometimes it is hard to type out stories so I will try to keep it up with it. I miss you all!