finally, a post!

Hey all! Sorry it has taken me so long to write a new post. Life just hasn't been exciting for the past week--we had midterms, ugh. I did go to the beach yesterday, and it was absolutely beautiful. The sky is actually blue, instead of this milky blueish-white, when you're near the water. Unfortunately, there were some creepy workers staring, but whatever, it was still fun. (The second and third pictures are from the public beach in between the Hilton and Sherton hotels in Jumeirah.)

The first picture is of the people I hang out with the most. On the far left is Alya: she is half English and half Iraqi, but she lives in Qatar and goes to AUD regularly. Isabely is next and she is from the Dominican Republic, but she goes to school in Florida. Unmoal is next to her and she is from West Virginia but is originally Pakistani. The girl in betweem Unmoal and I is Kristen. She is from Colorado, and we have Arabic class together. By the way, in this picture we are at an Iranian restaurant in Souk Madinat Jumeirah. If you every get the chance to try Iranian food, do it! It's ridiculously good.

A note on what things are called in Dubai:

Cellphones do not exist, they are mobiles (pronounced mo-BILE, not mo-bill).

You can not get anything "to go," they will give you a funny look if you say it. But it is correct to say "take away."

No one understands you if you say "I'm from the states or the U.S." You have to say "I'm from America."

Coca Cola does not exist here, I swear. You can only get Pepsi, and if you say you want a coke then they will ask you if pepsi is alright.

Hmmm.....that's all I can think of at the moment.

Next weekend I will be in Lebanon!!!!