Walking around Abu Dhabi - Sunday

Waking up early in the morning I did what big sisters do and cleaned up for my sister just a little bit. Then I heded out the door by 9am, dropping off my sister's dry cleaning. I was determined to get the most out of my day so just kept going. I didn't really have too much of a plan but I figured walk around and find something to do.

Well, interesting enough, people do not wake up very early here. As I walked around, the streets seemed empty for the big city I am in. I also noticed the sidewalks were all wet. I was confused and just figured they "wash" the sidewalks each morning. (I later found out that I was lucky enough to be here for the very rare occasion that is actually rained.)

I decided to try out the Salons. I went to have my eyebrows and upper lip threaded. They look fantastic. It was the first time I had this done and it hurts less than waxing and I wasn't red at all. After some other maintenance that usually cost a lot of money back home... I was out of there for 100 dirhams (27 dollars) for all kinds of waxing.

After walking around a bit, I started taking some pictures. I took pictures of Dunkin Donuts and KFC. Then I saw Starbucks so I couldn't resist the urge to have a Starbuck's coffee halfway around the world. They didn't have the Chai Frapachino I like, and the menu was a littl abbreviated, but if you sat down at one of the tables inside, drank your coffee, and read a book, you would not know you were in a different country.

I walked all the way down to the Corniche. I took some pictures and met some nice men from the UK. They were funny because they were lost and asking me what to do. I told them about the mall and the Emirates Palace. They were just down for the day from Dubai. They were very nice. They even offered me a ride to the mall, however I met Tricia for lunch instead.

We went to this buffet where I tried a number of different foods. I didn't exactly like any of them, but it was intersting to try everything. I liked this Green sauce the best, even though it was vegetarian. I ate some mixed grill and lots of rice.

After lunch I was going to the Marina Mall. It was an adventure to get there. I had a Cabby tell me he wouldn't go there so I had to find another one who would. When I finally got there this mall is enormous. I don't think I am a fan of "HUGE" malls. You can't really enjoy shopping. There is too much to see. However, this place has a skating rink and a ski slope (both closed right now but soon to be open). The mall was three stories high (I only made it to two of the floors in three hours). Even though I explored the first two floors, I think I missed half of it and went in circles most of the time. I did find the Ikea where I bought my sister some things to make her place a little more like a home.

As I was sitting down to have some Baskin Robbins rainbow sherbert in one of the million cafes at the mall, my sister calls me to say her and her friends are meeting for dinner at 7:30pm. Well that left me about 45 minutes to find a shirt and get back to her place.

We went to dinner at this Thai restaurant at one of the hotels along the oceanside. It was a nice little place. The food was really good, however they have really really long dinners (3 hours)... just not my style, thus why I am not a "networking" kind of person like my sister. It was interesting though and when we got back, I was so tired I couldn't even stay awake to watch the football game on fox sports (Greenbay vs. Chicago).

Well, now that I have caught you up, I am going to take a shower and get going again. I am going to be about an hour later though.. Hopefully I will be out the door by 10AM.

23 hours and 7 minutes

Arrived in Abu Dhabi, after 23 hours and 7 minutes in airports and on airplanes. It was an interesting trip. I met some interesting people who immigrated to the US and some other US citizens who wanted to discuss politics.

But I was on a vacation and escaping reality. Best of all I am here and I made it alive. I have my first stamp in my visa! Woo hoo! I am very excited. The trip was interesting, especially the landing in Frankfurt, Germany. There was only 500 meters of visibility, but on the plane you could barely see the end of the wing. We actually landed before anyone knew it. The flight attendant ran back to her seat after we had landed. :-)

Leaving Frankfurt was also an adventure. It was the first time I boarded a plane from the tarmat, which doesn't seem odd if it would be in the middle of the summer and the weather is nice, but it was 1 degree above freezing so that was weird. I was freezing coming from Phoenix. It was a good thing I bought a tourist sweathshirt in DC.

The flight to Abu Dhabi wasn't so bad I actually watched 3 movies on my way here. It was nice because the flight went fast, except that I couldn't keep my eyes open for "Get Smart." Maybe because it wasn't that good. Anyway, I got here, got my bag, my first stamp and headed out with my sister. A good day overall, because at the end a hug from my sister was wroth the 23 hours on planes and in airports.

Depressing

Yesterday I received an email titled "Voted the best email of the year." Well, it was a depressing email. It shows how thankful we should be for all the things we have in our privileged lives living in an "advanced" nation. Things like running water, enough food, cars, clothes, shoes, etc. There were depressing pictures of emaciated children in the streets and plastic 2L bottles tied with bits of cloth for shoes.

Well, I know I have it easy. I know I have it better than most, and I am thankful for that. But, I think it is okay for us to be sad at times too and feel like life sucks at times. Just because we have a lot too, doesn't mean we are happy all the time. In fact, I think it increases the overall likelihood that "Americans" will be dissatisfied because we do so much social comparison and our society is focused on who has more instead of having enough.

Well, I am just sad this week. I think it is okay that I am feeling depressed, just for a little while because you can try to be a good person, give back, be nice, respectful, etc and bad things will still happen. Now "bad" depends on perspective, but everyone gets tired of dealing with life sometimes and bad can be breaking a nail or getting in a car accident.

So, I feel bad about those individuals in life who's plight is worse than mine... but I should be able to feel bad sometimes too just because I need to.