Adjust

Ok so I made it to the other side of the world in one piece and somewhat sane. First flight was great because my family was awesome enough to get me quite drunk before the flight and I ended up with a whole row to myself (because who travels at this time of year). I must say, there is nothing quite like passing out on a plane after a few drinks, spread out across 3 seats. When I landed in Germany I got rushed off the plane by flight crew, out some random door and into a bus and into the next plane. I think I only had 20 minutes to make it there or something and for anyone who knows the airport in Germany, you will know how impossible that is. So my stay in Germany was minimal to say the least but on the way back should be a bit longer, so to all the people I had promised random things to from Germany, you'll get it on the way back :) The second flight SUCKED. The only good part was that I spilt my wine (by accident) on this douchebag next to me coz I laughed so hard at the movie I was watching. He was not amused. And 18 hours (or so) later I got here.

Well tonight is my third night in Dubai, and as it was pointed out to me upon arrival, in order to fully take in and appreciate the entirely different lifestyle that is the way of life here, you must switch your brain off from wherever you came from. This is not my first trip here, so I knew what to expect. For me this means switching off my dearly missed Tim Hortons, switching off a certain enjoyable habit, switching off my Blackberry (although admittedly I turn it on a couple times a day to check on my lovelies back home), switching off any kind of adopted daily patterns, and unfortunately switching off caring about any issues back home that may arise (bills, letters that need your attention, forgetting the recycling bins outside... ahem). You become immersed in having to accept such grand and obvious social hierarchy, to a point where it's heartbreaking. The people at the bottom of the pyramid are probably the first people you will run into, because as soon as you get off the plane, they will try to help you with your bags etc in order to get a tip. Giving them a dollar for us is like giving them food for the day. These people are the foundation of this disgusting fantastic place. On my first night here it put me in tears, to see human to human interaction as if it were human to animal.

This may not be drawing the prettiest picture of Dubai for all of you back home, and on that front, it isn't. But it is what it is, it just comes as a shock initially. Seems I got more upset about it than they do. To put it in perspective for all the ladies who watched Sex and the City 2, it's like Carrie's servant said, for them this is luxury and survival compared to what they would face back home. And it also means their families can eat.

My previous trips here were different in that the Middle East was not undergoing a revolution as it is now, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those countries who are still in a state of emergency. On that note, God bless my home Masr (Egypt), and I'll leave it at that because I could go on about this for way too long (and I probably will in a separate entry at some stage when we can reach a more solid conclusion).The other side of landing in Dubai is having to immerse yourself in the obsession with politics, political correctness, racial groupings, not to mention religious cause and effect on all the states in the UAE. On the note of something you can relate to, in order to keep fanatics from causing local chaos in drunken states, alcohol is only served in hotels, or restaurants linked to hotels. It is possible but hard to attain a personal liquor license.

It is very different and very strange coming here as a non tourist this time, and for an extended period of time (possibly extended further but we'll talk about that later). The smaller details of the way the country is run seem to pop out more, although it could also be that I am older now and more knowledgeable to look for these things, and unfortunately see them.

On my first night here as I was being driven to our apartment, I saw a boy being beat with bats by about 5 other guys. I guess that would also explain why I felt so sad the whole night. I didn't sleep until 6:30am.

Believe it or not though it's not all bad guys (lol). I think I just can't seem to focus on the good yet as I am still adjusting back to the cultural differences and norms. Now Canada starts to seems just as strange to me (although it always sort of was in a funny entertaining and confusing way). Maybe a nice massage tomorrow will bring out the good. There is a lot of (man made) beauty to be seen, just a lot of wow factors really. Architecture here is sometimes out of this world, even in malls! I will post pictures soon. However a lot of big projects were stopped due to the economy, so this left a few scattered unfinished buildings.

Anyway, the architecture of my bed is looking perfect right now.
Goodnight world <3