Week 2 in Abu Dhabi

Highlights of the week:

· I found out I passed the NC Bar – I guess I know just enough law to be dangerous in the state of North Carolina. It was a quite a relief to pass as I put in 2 solid months of studying for that test. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and friends who helped me stay focused along the way. I just hope my family and friends know how much they mean to me - I try to tell them often how much I appreciate the love and support, but sometimes I wonder if my family and close friends really know how big of an impact they have had in my life.

· Fingers crossed, we should be able to move into our apartment this upcoming weekend. Josclyn and I will hopefully be moving into our apartment in a few days, but until that day officially comes...we will remain anxious.

· Driving out here – in a word: crazy. I think I have avoided 3 serious collisions by slamming on my breaks (locking them up once). I have never been cut off so many times in my life…my new driving strategy to stay alive is to pretty much do everything opposite of what you learned in Driver’s Ed. I had joked with my Mom about getting Josclyn a Scooter to ride to work...but I couldn't find her a helmet :)

· J’s birthday was on the 28^th – The big 24. We both laughed over lunch, we never really thought we’d be celebrating her birthday in Dubai when we got married. Over her b-day weekend we took a road trip to Dubai to look at some cars and checked out some of the famous sights (ie the indoor ski slope). The game of buying a car out here is about ten times more stressful than buying a car in the US; and the fact that I'm American and don't speak Arabic makes me a prime target to get the short end of the stick when bargaining for the price of a car. More paper work is needed to get a car in the UAE than to apply to college, it’s insane. For example, you need the following:

o Original passport

o Residency visa

o Letter from your company (stating they have no objection to you getting a car)

o Emirates national ID card

o Local driver’s license

o 2 page essay of why you want to drive a car (Ok, this is not required...but it wouldn't surprise me if a dealer asked...)

All of that just to be able to buy a car!

For a loan, you need all of the above plus a copy of your labor card, labor agreement (i.e. copy of your contract), and copy of your pay stub indicating how much money you make (plus all the above listed info)

By the time the salesman had listed all this I was pretty much pounding my head on his desk. Jos almost has all her paper work, she still needs to get her Emirates ID, which she is hopefully going to get tomorrow morning…. me on the other hand, I pretty much need to get all of the aforementioned identification (other than a passport). BUT I can’t get any of it until I get my work visa…. which has been “processing” for 2 weeks with the government here. It is Ramadan until Sept 11^th, so until Ramadan ends, the Govt will pretty much continue to operate at snail speed, but oh well, what can you do.

• Went to an Iftar Event at Emirates Palace – this hotel screams “unnecessary” – it is so nice and over the top, it just leaves you shaking your head. How can a Country build such a beautiful hotel and not fully grasp the concept of showering (with soap) on a regular basis…or not have addresses? The latter comment was probably more appropriate but some things just don’t add up. Below are some pictures we took around the Palace