Stimulation Overload

-I saw the tallest fountains in the world, at the base of the tallest building in the world.
-I went to the highest lounge in the world, located in the tallest building in the world.
-I rode the fastest rollercoaster in the world.
-I skiied on one of the only indoor ski hills in the world.
-I ate (and drank) more than my body weight in the ten days I was in Dubai.

Being in a place (I almost wrote city, Balaken? City?! Ha!) that does not have any skyscrapers is the least of my adjustment issues currently.

But I must say, I'm surprised at how happy I am to be back.

Dubai was amazing. My Dad was a great tour guide, having lived in Dubai city center only a month, he took great care of us. We did all of the cool touristy stuff (including a simulation sky-diving experience - floating in a wind tunnel, basically), and still got to lounge around the apartment like it belonged to us. Because well, it does. My mom met us a few days in, and that was her big move to Dubai from home. I think she's adjusting well. I think the beach will help...

Dubai is like all the great things about America, on drugs. Only without the drugs. (You can get arrested for having trace amounts of codeine on your system - and that's arrested until you can prove that it was prescribed). And the alcohol is 'controlled' meaning that anywhere but hotels it is illegal, but in the hotels it flows like water.

The city is beautiful, clean. My first impression was the smell of the gulf and thinking, "everything is so shiny." There is no shortage of things to do, but I'm certainly glad we were able to have Dad's paycheck help us get around. I doubt we'd have gotten very far on a Peace Corps salary. But that isn't to say that everything is crazy expensive...most stuff is reasonable by American standards.

Getting on that plane was difficult. But I was comforted when I came back to my apartment and found everything just the way I left it. I went to school, and was even happy to see my difficult fifth formers tattling on each other in the hallway. When I was in Dubai I thought about not coming back. But I'm glad I did. It'll be hard to be here in the Balaken cold thinking, "I could be sitting on the beach right now." But five months isn't really that much time...