A Post of Little Effort

I got a post all assembled the other day and right before I published it, realized the pictures didn't embed! So annoying. So, sorry for the delay and since I don't feel like going back and fixing that post, I'm just going to go ahead with this one.

I went on a dhow cruise on Monday. The dhow I rode looked something like this:



in a place looking something like this:



They call it the Fjords of the Middle East, or of Oman, or of Musandam, depending on who you're talking to. These fjords are a whole lot browner than the Fjords of Norway, and the mountains not nearly so huge, but these fjords had dolphins.



My pictures aren't very good, but if they fail to show you how beautiful the scenery was, perhaps they can aid you in imagining how the contrast between the blue water and brown mountains combined to create Beautiful.





Right?

It was weird, though, being out there on the Arabian Sea with a dhowful of Mormons. Of the thirty, I think there were 3 who weren't from Utah. We were the three not saying, "Take a pitcher!" and "oo, that one's eckspecially nice." Of those 27, 15 were under the age of 18.
The crazy thing isn't the dramatic increase in the number of Mormons in the country, it's that so many are from Utah. Some days it doesn't even feel like I moved half way across the world.

Also on this day...

...the power went out. Again. and again. and again.

It's on now, thankfully, but not for these folk.

SHARJAH // About 200 construction workers went on strike yesterday as the emirate’s power cuts and brownouts continued into their fourth week.

The staff employed by the Karam Construction Company abandoned work for four hours to protest against conditions at their accommodation in the Sajja industrial area, which has been without electrical lighting or air conditioning for five days.

And while I rather enjoy the heat of the summer--yes, even this summer, where the humidity makes it 20 degrees hotter--I have the option of AC. And lights, phone and internet, television, stove, microwave and fridge.

09.09.09

Dubai Metro has been launched.

I know because I spent the last hour and 9 minutes waiting for it to pull from the station. Waiting and wading--through the terrible commentary of the anchors on Dubai One's Special Coverage. Through the images of Dubai, images that corresponded with one-word descriptors of the Metro ("convenience," "style"). Through the speeches venerating the visionary VP of the country, president and Prime Minster of Dubai.

And then, at approximately 9:08:34 PM the metro's first ticket was purchased. Shiekh Mo pulled the money from his very own modest brown leather wallet. (But, and I must add this, it was a woman who purchased the ticket. There He was, surrounded by several-hundred men of varying degrees of importance, but Woman gets credit for using the touch-screen ticket dispenser to validate Sheikh Mo's purchase.)

At 9:09:09 PM on 09/09/09, he pressed the Nol Red card to the gate and became the first patron ever.
He was followed by a sea of penguin-looking "dignitaries, businessmen, and others," as Dubai One so succinctly put it.

Up the stairs, through the breezeway over the freeway, out of the mall, and all the way to the world's longest driverless train he walked. You may not think that is remarkable, but oh it was for the anchors.

Riding the metro will take you out of your comfort zone--your sedentary lifestyle, as Sheikh Mohammad is demonstrating.

And what an exemplary job he did of walking up all those stairs!

Then, he and his dignitaries, businessmen, and less common-ers boarded the train. The cameras recorded and TV stations broadcasted and we all waited with great anticipation for the train to make it to the next station...

We all waited with great anticipation for the train to make it to the next station...

We all--what the heck is the hold up??

I still don't know. But five minutes later, when the train did finally pull away from the station, it was packed.

Oh look, now they're all back on TV at the next station. Still walking, and climbing, and setting an example for all of us lazy, car-dependent Dubai residents.

Another little ceremony for this station. Ah, a laser show. That links East and West by lighting up Arabic writing...? The Metro, the anchors tell me, is actually redefining "Arab." Wow! This Metro has so much more meaning than I ever imagined!

Man, all this excitement, anticipation, and watching people break free of the sedentary lifestyles has worked up my appetite. I'm off to make this.

My Favorite Part Of Being Out Of School

I never wanted to go to college.

I planned to drop out of high school and clean vomit of tavern floors in Dublin--or pretty much anything that would let me travel. My parents wouldn't hear of it and then we all moved to Dubai and so we all got our wishes granted, because not only were we living somewhere new and exciting, but my tuition was 100% FREE. So my parents sent me to college and I had no way out of it.

Now that I'm done, I realize what a complete imbecile I was. Why on Earth would you not go to college? (Answer: Because school means wooooork and graaaaades and teeeessts and papeeeers. Ugh.) Don't answer that; it's rhetorical. The thing about college is this: it rocks. The even cooler thing about college? FINISHING rocks EVEN MORE.

I'm living with my parents again, which may not sound very cool, but which most certainly is. Let me tell you about the last, oh, 36 hours.

I slept in till 11 because I didn't have to do anything at all. (I'm now babysitting only three times a week.)
But I got up and got dressed anyway. And then noticed the awful headache I had and how achey it made my head and how awful my head felt! When my parents got home for lunch, I whiiiiined about my siinuuuseees. My mom, who suffers from sinus aches more than I do, took pity on my and offered me some rhino-relief pills. I only took one. I only took one! (That's important! But I'll come back to it.)
Then I went up to the library with them and was yawning within an hour. Yawning and losing focus and yawning some more.
I fell asleep on the couch.
I got up for dinner.
I fell asleep on the couch.

Pssh. So much for that non-drowsy meds. Also, so much for one pill equaling half a dose. If I had been smart about it, I would have read the instructions and realized that one pill=full-dose=DO NOT TAKE (I can never handle full doses of any medicine).
But I wasn't and I didn't, and so at 11 PM, I woke up and went to bed.

I woke up several more times throughout the night and finally woke up all the way at 7:30 this morning. 7:30! I read a bit.
At 9 the maid came and I decided not to leave my room until she was gone.
She didn't leave for three hours and I read the whole time. In bed. In my PJs. In BED!
This afternoon, I babysat for three hours, which means I got paid to make gingerbread cookies and watch Bolt while munching on popcorn.

Go to college. You'll be so happy you did.


(PS I really have been productive. I've worked out several times since last week's post and have lost 5 pounderinos. I cleaned my room, organized my closet, did laundry, and while my Arabic study hasn't been great, I have been doing some each day. I also have more pictures to post. Woohoo!)

Wanted: Short-term Commitment

Today, my parents announced that it was time to get me married.

This is a major change of policy, as my parents have long encouraged my bachelorettehood.
"Finish college!" They said.
"Get a degree!" The insisted.
"We don't trust your judgment. We'll choose for you!" They assured.

And then this afternoon while discussing future travel plans, I wished aloud for a travel companion because solo travel is just so exhausting. To that, my mom replied, "Yeah, too bad you're not married."

Dad: Maybe we could do something about it before she leaves.

So we thought about it and talked about it and thought some more and after several minutes of we all agreed that it was highly unlikely we would, in the next three weeks, find a young man possessing not just time and resources to travel for the next two months, but also a willingness to marry for the sole purpose of accompanying me on my travels around the Middle East. Because, you see, I am not really interested in getting married. It's just that I don't have money for a bodyguard.

But I'm not giving up! If you know of anyone, send 'em my way. I do cook (noodles) and clean (occasionally) and I'm really awesome company (most of the time).

Also, clearly I know how to have a good time:



And I'm not afraid of a little dirt.

Dubai. Dubai! OMG DUBAI.

This afternoon I went to Dubai. I needed a haircut. Badly. (See profile.) I didn't cheap out on this one, and for someone with a fast-diminishing savings account and a babysitter's income, it was really an unwise decision. In case you're wondering, yes, I am accepting donations. Please contact me at annaraybia {at} gmail {dot} com.

So: Dubai. Dubai. Wow. Dubai.
I mean, I was there in June. And actually, I was there just a few weeks ago at the airport. But I haven't *really* been there in closer to 4 years. Normally when I come to visit at Christmas, we go to the mall because there is always some new mall to see. And just in December, we went to the Atlantis (just to visit for the afternoon. And indulge in a nice fat scoop from Coldstone). So maybe I shouldn't be *this* shocked. I promise to one day to a side-by-side picture comparison so you can experience, to some degree, the urge I feel to just drop my jaw and utter incoherent phrases about how Dubai is so diff--I mean did you see--how in the--and so fast!!
But for now I will just show you some freaking pictures already.

This is a road I have been on many, many times before. It's parallel to the beach, and runs right along Mall of the Emirates, which was not even there when I first started using it to get to school.



You see that raised, white part running along the road? That's the monorail. That wasn't even conceived of in 2004, but will make its inaugural run next week: on 09.09.09




Bur al-Arab.
It's $80 just to go inside, so of course this is the closest I've been:


Actually, that's not true. Some friends and I once drove up to the bridge entrance, just to see if we could get through. Turns out, you really do need a reservation.


Whoa! Intersection?? NO WAY!



And this ladder leads to Heaven:

ooooo.

By the time my split ends were annihilated, night had fallen and the moon was shining brightly.


Unfortunately, my tripod was not around to ensure the picture was properly captured.



Humidity has been especially high lately. My sunglasses fog up when I leave the house, my camera lens fogs up whenever I try to take a picture, and the windows always look like this:



So there you have it. And here I have this. Mmmmmm.

Arabian Night

Yesterday, the sun peeked at me through the trees:





I walked a bit and found it again






and was reminded of all the times I had seen it as a student, leaving the library just as the call for Maghrib prayer rang out across the campus.








There's nothing quite like it in the world.