Caught in the Middle

The Middle East, that is. 3 weeks ago, this past Sunday, my husband Giuseppe and I moved to Dubai, UAE. This amazing opportunity errupted and we jumped in...both feet, no looking back...and here we sit, in the Middle East! Who would've thought that 3 months ago, at our wedding, on 7/7/07, that this was in the stars for us! It is amazing, surreal and extravagant in all aspects of the word. Let me brief you a bit on my initial reaction to moving here...HUH?

However, that was not my first reaction to arriving here...it was more like WOW!

That is where the 'extravagant' part comes in...the lifestyle, the people, the spaces, the architecture (that is why WE are here), the beauty, it is all extravagant. It is tip-top, over-the-top, glitz and glamour to the uttmost...everything is done and overdone and then overdone some more...just to seemingly make sure that there is nothing that can top what 'it' may be...whether a hotel or development or the new Dubai Mall across the street from where we live. An oasis built from nothing but a lot of golden sand, a place where just years ago, there was nothing but some dreams and visions of the Sheikh at the time, a little treasure box that is now encrusted with precious tourists all looking to make their mark on what is the biggest booming city on Earth.

No kidding, 1/4 of the world's cranes are here in Dubai. There are so many buildings being designed and constructed here that they literally ship in thousands of labor workers from India and Pakistan daily to keep up with the pace, which is still not doing the job, being that some projects are said to be a minimum of 3 years behind schedule. It nearly seems impossible since everywhere you look, every place you go, there are workers. They work day and night, round the clock, on everything from malls to condos, to an island oasis shaped like a palm tree and the world's tallest tower, The Burj Dubai. As I like to describe to my family, it is "one big construction site." Albeit for some camels crossing the street to their training track just 10 minutes outside the city.

Overall, we absolutely have embraced our move to Dubai, and are thoroughly enjoying where we live...the area is called Old Town, Burj Dubai, and it is centrally located to everything! We can get to the camels in about 10 minutes, the beach in 20, the desert in 40, the Mall of the Emirates in 15 (The Dubai Mall, a 12.1 million s.f. space is being built across the street from us!), IKEA in about 15 and we have our own little souk right in our development, with restaurants, grocery stores and designer glasses and clothing boutiques, in addition to traditional tea shops, cafes and local arabic goods...ie. The Camel Company! They sell everything camel! Giuseppe and I have been lucky enough to travel and explore around a bit together, getting used to the 6-lane highways, speeding BMW's and Ferrari's and how nothing is located related to a street, but rather landmarks...the streetscape changes each day, so it is utterly impossible to tell someone to take a certain street/road/boulevard when tomorrow, it may not be there! Crazy, but true!

So we live in Yansoon 3, one of the many buildings in Old Town, on the 3rd floor with this incredible view of the Burj Dubai out of our balcony, and what is soon to be Old Town Island and The Boulevard, which will soon be a water and grass filled oasis where we can walk to open-air cafes and markets, the Dubai Mall and many water features along the boardwalk. I feel very safe and enjoy the gym, pools and relaxing environment that are all part of what we now call "home."

Although our hearts are with our families and friends back home, we are making this an opportunity of a lifetime, and can't wait to see what is to come, so stay tuned...

PS...I turn 28 tomorrow, October 11, so send some good wishes my way as I ring in MY new year in my new found home with a wonderful future and life ahead of me....Buon Compleanno a me!