Random Thoughts

So, I don't have anything in particular to post about, so I thought I would just share some of my thoughts on life over here.  So far, I have really enjoyed living in Abu Dhabi, it is definitely different, but I think as long as you are willing to accept that it is different from your home country, you can really enjoy it.  Granted, I am still in the "honeymoon phase," but I think that I will enjoy living here for a few years.

Some random thoughts:

• I really enjoy working/living with people from all different ethnicities.  I find it really interesting and like to learn about their culture/background.  Everyone has been really nice (except 2 local emirati girls in the mall that looked at us like we were crazy for trying to ask them a question) and has enjoyed sharing their experiences and tips in how to get settled in here.  There are a lot of europeans, indians, filipinos, and americans.  There is really such a large expat community here that I feel like I learn just as much about other cultures, etc than I do about the local ones.
• Tissues are everywhere here!  They are like to standby staple for anything that we would use a paper towel, napkin, or tissue for.  Everyone has a box at their desk, there are 3 boxes in the ladies bathroom at work.  The paper towels that are in the bathrooms and kitchen might as well be tissues...they're so thin.
• Housing is starting to stress me out a little bit, but I am sure I'll get it figured out soon.  My company is putting me up in a hotel for one month (I have 2 wks left) but at that point I need to know where I am going to live.  I have probably seen about 12-15 places over the past week...there's a wide range of places out there.  It is really expensive to live in the city (well housing is just expensive in general), for example the place I liked the most that I've seen in the city was a 1 bedroom apartment in a tower that had a nice outdoor pool and gym and that was 120,000 AED/yr which is about $33,000.  Also, you have to pay the entire rent for the year up front (luckily my company, like most others, will pay that check for you and then just divide that amount over 10 mths and take it out of your paycheck over the rest of the year).  So as you can see, it's a bit of a big decision, but I am sure it will all work out in the end.
• I can't tell you how many commercials I have seen on tv that are advertising for a skin whitener cream.  It's just kind of funny when you compare it to americans who risk gettting skin cancer just so that they can have darker/tanner skin.
• I am afraid I am getting a little spoiled living in a hotel.  It's so nice to have my bed made, and clean towels, dishes washed, and things tidied up for me everyday (although Paul would argue that he did that for me everyday back home, but that's another story)
• I have my residency visa! There is a whole list of things that I can/need to do now: bank account, driver's license, emirates ID card, liquor license (no, I didn't become an alcoholic, you just have to buy this license if you want to drink any alcohol in a restaurant or buy it from a store), phone plan, buy/rent a car and the list goes on.
• I was very disappointed to not find any bagels in Lulu's (one of the "hypermarkets" here).  However, there is philadelphia cream cheese which makes me very happy.  Also, in general there is more cheese in this grocery store than I have ever seen in my life...think 2 whole aisles...
• One of my renewed favorite treats are crepes with nutella which I had quite a bit when i studied in Paris.  They have crepe stands in all of the malls, so I have been enjoying the french treat probably a bit too much.
• It's very hard to go to work on Sundays, especially when you know that it is a long work day (10hrs), but the wonderful thing about the work week is that the weekend comes so fast...all of a sudden Tuesday means you're halfway through the week.  I love it :)
• Malls are crucial here...everything is in the mall.  That's where you go grocery shopping, that's where most of the restaurants are, the pharmacies, movie theaters, etc.
• I really like Ikea.  I have never been to Ikea before, but I love how they can make a small space look so organized and livable...it looks like we will be doing most of our furnishing from there :)

Enough rambling.  Just one last thing, I feel like posts always need at least one photo, so here it is.

The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

We went to the Grand Mosque one night last weekend because some friends had thought that it was open at night (it wasn't).  But it was still cool to see at night.  I think that they said it is the world's 2nd largest mosque.