Sandier Pastures

I know this is a little early but after a month, here’s how I feel of the third country I am into:

I love…

• the feel of the sun shining everyday..cloudy skies are rare!
• the starlit skies at night
• great weather (from November to April, so they say)
• that I am not gaining any weight as I am wearing light clothes and excessive eating will easily show. Back in Japan, the thick winter clothes would always blind me of my real size!
• the amazingly emerald green sea
• the various different cultures that help broaden my mind towards different nationalities (people come from 200 different countries here, approximately)
• NO TAX!
• seeing desert strips turn into exotic resorts
• the festivals with all the entertainment for children and adults
• the spacious parks! — not so many cities have green spaces especially in the desert that can compare 
• the palm trees lined up in most streets
• the winter when you just need to put on an extra cardigan instead of a heavy, wooly winter coat (hated the weather back in Nagano where the cold seeps into the core of you!)
• No ice on your car to scrap off!
• the multilingual environment — my daughter started to count in Arabic as well as in English  just after two weeks in daycare!
• feeling safe..very low crime rate (although I felt safe in Japan too)
• CHEAP petrol! it’s even cheaper than bottled water, can you believe that!
• cheap petrol comes with cheap taxis!
• we can have bbq all the year round
• the opportunity to live in another country and learn about another culture
• the fabulous shopping malls
• supermarkets having dedicated sections for Filipino/Japanese products
• we get some of the best shops and franchises from all over the world in one place
• seeing people ski (indoor and man-made) even if we are in the middle east!
• there are lots of friendly people who have ready smiles for everyone
• I am part of history in the making!

I hate…

• being away with friends
• the rain, when it happens
• the mental drivers!
• traffic, traffic and more traffic
• rising living cost esp flat rents
• general lack of information (public transport routes, rent controls, employment issues)
• the constant staring from males at the streets (but hey, can you blame them? the current male-female ratio here is 5:1 and most of these people come here leaving their wives back home)
• that the postman doesn’t deliver directly to home. It is via private P.O. boxes here
• the dust storm
• the shiteously hideously hot and humid summer months
• expensive nurseries

I know I will be adding so many things in this list  as time goes but for now, I suppose you’ll get a slight picture of what/how Dubai is.