Happy New Year! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season with those closest to you. I had the good fortune to go home over Christmas break. Well, I say ‘good’ fortune; it was good once I finally arrived in Florida. I arrived in NYC amidst all of the snowstorms and weather chaos. My flight to Florida was cancelled and I couldn’t find another flight out on any airline for days. At this time I was also reminded of the miracle we call cell phones. I didn’t have one and it made things a nightmare. Do you realize how difficult it is to find working pay phones anymore?! After waiting in hours of lines and calling airports all around New York and New Jersey, I opted to take the ‘adventurous’ route and drive to my aunt’s house in Virginia, where I would take a plane to Tampa the next day. I rented the only car that was still available and hit the road, oddly content as at least I was in the country and didn’t have a language barrier to hurdle amidst it all! Jet lagged and exhausted, I set out. As I navigated my way out of the city I began reviewing the precautionary steps when driving in ice and snow. If you hit ice and spin do you turn with the car or against it? Do you brake or not? I admit I’ve never actually driven in cold weather before, so these questions were a bit daunting. I decided to compare the ice to still water on the road during a Florida storm. Seems logical, right?!
Banks of freshly fallen snow covering cars up to their roofs and icicles hanging from bare tree branches provided beautiful scenery as I drove. As the sun set, the hues of orange and yellow that danced across the sky were reflected in the white snow, making it shine like jewels. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility. The silence brought by winter allowed me to see that in the midst of my travel exhaustion and frustrations God makes himself known. He provided a way for me to get home and made it a stunning ride as well.
After 19 hours of flying, 6 hours of airport lines, and 10 hours of driving I finally arrived at my Aunt Sharon’s. I think I actually cheered a little as I drove into her driveway. The drive brought another blessing in disguise, which was being able to visit some family I wouldn’t otherwise have seen over Christmas. Martin family, thank you for welcoming in my smelly, exhausted, and pathetic looking self that night!
I flew out of Newport News the next afternoon and finally arrived in Tampa. The unusually cold Florida weather caught me by surprise, though it was a welcome change from the heat that I had escaped. The next two weeks were spent in the wonderful company of family and friends. I apologize for not seeing many of you; the downside to such a short trip is that there is never enough time to see everyone.
While I was in Venice I was plagued with the same feeling that accompanied me when I used to go home from college and visit: although I love being with my family and around everything that is comforting and known, I didn’t feel as though I completely belong in Venice. It is a safe place, rejuvenating to the mind and heart, but not one in which I can function for an indefinite amount of time. I visited Orlando, where I lived the last four years, and for the first time, it didn’t feel like home either and neither does Dar now. For the first time in my life, I’m struggling with this definition of ‘home’. If ‘home’ is where you do life then that’s Dar, but if home is where the heart is, then I’m not sure where that is. A piece of my heart is in Venice with my family and old friends and a piece of it is in Orlando with my friends and college memories. Dar is where I do life. It’s a great career move. It teaches me valuable life lessons and provides me with experiences unequivocal to those I could get in the states, but it is not where my heart is. I do not regret moving here (okay- I do curse moving here when I have no power and water!), but I have not yet made those connections with people that would make this ‘home’. And that’s what home is to me I suppose: doing life in a place where you have strong relationships with those around you. I know that relationships with people you have only recently met take time; I am getting to know some wonderful people here. Who knows, I may call this ‘home’ by the time I eventually leave, but right now I’m stuck in a rut of not quite being content with where I am but also not knowing where else I’d want to go. Am I dealing with ‘homesickness’ or searching for ‘home’? I’m not sure, but I’m struggling with it more now that I’m back from the states than I was when I first arrived. While Dar isn’t terrible, it is not on my list of favorite places in terms of ease and enjoyable living. These frustrations associated with living in a developing country don’t help my feeling of being unsettled. Okay, enough of my moaning. I am blessed with so much and I know that where there is emptiness in my soul my Lord will fill it. In this promise I will press on, focusing on the good around me.
One of those ‘good’ moments came in the form of a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). My Dar to USA flight was through Emirates airline and all trips go through Dubai. When booking my ticket, it didn’t cost any extra money to make the connection into an extended layover. Robin, my teacher friend who also accompanied me to Egypt, flew to the states with me. We met back in NYC at the end of our trip and flew to UAE to spend 4 nights and 3 full days. Dubai has been in the news lately because it’s the state of the art modern city that would have gone bankrupt without the bailout from their neighboring emirate (state) Abu Dhabi. Dubai has also recently been the subject of media attention because the week we were there it opened what is now the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower).
The Burj Dubai reaches an astounding 2,717 feet and has 160 floors which are comprised of office spaces, residential apartment for $4,000/sq ft., a mosque, and the world’s highest hotel, the Armani hotel. After purchasing a $30.00 ticket to the world’s tallest observation deck on the 124th floor, Robin and I eventually got to the front of the line and stepped into the fastest elevator in the world, which reached 40 m.p.h. The management team of this building definitely ensured that everything about this building was over the top. The elevator ride was better than many amusement rides. Aside from not being able to actually feel the movement of the elevator at all or any corresponding ear popping, the inside of the elevator was dark. Its walls were black and had small blue lights behind glass designs shaped like the building layout flush to the walls. There was also a flat screen tv built into each wall. As you rose, the tvs rolled with scenes of sky and clouds taken from the perspective of being in them. The lights on the walls illuminated rising up again and again in a staggered pattern so that, in conjunction with the tv and the airy music from the speakers above, made you feel as though you really were rising up. The view at the top was stunning, making the stomach a bit queasy when looking straight down. In keeping with Dubai’s constant effort to be the biggest and the best in everything possible, its commitment to cleanliness certainly is incredible. Nowhere did I ever see liter or any signs of neglect. Even around the mall they had people walking around erasing scuff marks from people’s shoes!
Dubai can be described as Disney World meets Las Vegas in its presentation. It is its own fantasy world, catering to any desire, pushing the boundaries of prosperity, amazing its observer with futuristic concepts and innovations, offering an over abundance of choices, and costing a small fortune! The blending of an Islamic country and Western culture creates an interesting feel to the city. Scenes such as a burqa-clad woman next to another in tight jeans and a halter top left me with the sense that the city really has no identity as its own but rather adopts cultures and customs of all of its visitors. The idea that women in Dubai have so many more freedoms than do women in other Middle Eastern cultures, especially that of its neighbor Saudi Arabia, left me all the more baffled and confused by the line between Islamic expectations and Middle Eastern culture.
This fascination with the Middle East that I had acquired since moving to Tanzania and then even more since visiting Egypt fueled by desire to buy multiple topic oriented books from a bookstore in the Dubai Mall, the world’s largest mall-of course! The book I’m currently reading, The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years (by Bernard Lewis), “…charts the history of the Middle East…from the birth of Christianity through the modern era, focusing on the successive transformations that have shaped it.” I’m not yet a quarter of the way through it but so far it’s an amazing read.
Robin and I spent two whole days in Dubai visiting malls (with aquariums, ice skating rinks, and ski slopes inside!), walking through the gold market in the historic neighborhood, visiting mosques, and trying our best to figure out this over the top concept of Dubai. On our last full day we rented a car early in the morning and took a twelve hour road trip around other emirates (states) in the country. We drove through the Hatta Mountains and the desert sand dunes, along the UAE-Oman border and the Gulf of Oman. The scenery was beautiful and the drive enjoyable.
Looking back on my brief visit to UAE, I deduce that I am glad that I went, especially since the airline didn’t charge me extra. I was able to experience some amazing concepts and designs as well as adding more fuel to the fire of my fascination with the Middle East. Having said that comparing it to all of the other places I have been, I would not recommend a visit for the sole purpose of vacationing in Dubai. It was, however, successful in equipping me with the last few 1st world conveniences I needed to buy before heading back to Tanzania!
I arrived back in Dar three days before school started, which left me with some time to catch up a bit and prepare for the coming term. My arrival also signaled the beginning of my additional role as the new Team Leader for Grade Two. This leadership position is exciting, and the extra work load is forcing me to become a stronger teacher.
My arrival also brought with it some negative ‘welcome home’ presents. First, I was met with an infestation of flying termites in my bedroom. They are absolutely everywhere! One of my bedroom walls is occupied entirely by a built in wardrobe. The termites are feasting on the entire wardrobe as well as my wooden ceiling. The ceiling is an even greater problem because their bodies and wings are falling all over my room. I nightly pick off the dozen or so that have fallen through my mosquito net and onto my bed since my housekeeper left, then I do yet another sweep of the floor and dusting of the furniture to collect their little bodies-yuck! I will have to move everything out of my bedroom later this week when the construction men come to redo my entire bedroom ceiling and replace my built in wardrobe. The rest of my house also needs a new ceiling, but since the little pests aren’t showing themselves yet we will wait until I am away during summer break.
In the midst of this, my hot water heater died as well as my fridge, spoiling all of my meat and dairy. With tons of pent up frustration, I called my ever-amazing parents and had a minor breakdown. I’m since doing much better with a new refrigerator and water heater and a ceiling on the way. It’s times such as these that I can only smile and think of what great stories these will be in years to come.
I have taken pictures of my school and classroom but will wait to take pictures of my house until the bedroom work is completed. As soon as it is finished, I will make a video of my house and post it all at once so that you can finally see where I live. The following link will allow you to view my UAE pictures; I hope that you enjoy!
Banks of freshly fallen snow covering cars up to their roofs and icicles hanging from bare tree branches provided beautiful scenery as I drove. As the sun set, the hues of orange and yellow that danced across the sky were reflected in the white snow, making it shine like jewels. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility. The silence brought by winter allowed me to see that in the midst of my travel exhaustion and frustrations God makes himself known. He provided a way for me to get home and made it a stunning ride as well.
After 19 hours of flying, 6 hours of airport lines, and 10 hours of driving I finally arrived at my Aunt Sharon’s. I think I actually cheered a little as I drove into her driveway. The drive brought another blessing in disguise, which was being able to visit some family I wouldn’t otherwise have seen over Christmas. Martin family, thank you for welcoming in my smelly, exhausted, and pathetic looking self that night!
I flew out of Newport News the next afternoon and finally arrived in Tampa. The unusually cold Florida weather caught me by surprise, though it was a welcome change from the heat that I had escaped. The next two weeks were spent in the wonderful company of family and friends. I apologize for not seeing many of you; the downside to such a short trip is that there is never enough time to see everyone.
While I was in Venice I was plagued with the same feeling that accompanied me when I used to go home from college and visit: although I love being with my family and around everything that is comforting and known, I didn’t feel as though I completely belong in Venice. It is a safe place, rejuvenating to the mind and heart, but not one in which I can function for an indefinite amount of time. I visited Orlando, where I lived the last four years, and for the first time, it didn’t feel like home either and neither does Dar now. For the first time in my life, I’m struggling with this definition of ‘home’. If ‘home’ is where you do life then that’s Dar, but if home is where the heart is, then I’m not sure where that is. A piece of my heart is in Venice with my family and old friends and a piece of it is in Orlando with my friends and college memories. Dar is where I do life. It’s a great career move. It teaches me valuable life lessons and provides me with experiences unequivocal to those I could get in the states, but it is not where my heart is. I do not regret moving here (okay- I do curse moving here when I have no power and water!), but I have not yet made those connections with people that would make this ‘home’. And that’s what home is to me I suppose: doing life in a place where you have strong relationships with those around you. I know that relationships with people you have only recently met take time; I am getting to know some wonderful people here. Who knows, I may call this ‘home’ by the time I eventually leave, but right now I’m stuck in a rut of not quite being content with where I am but also not knowing where else I’d want to go. Am I dealing with ‘homesickness’ or searching for ‘home’? I’m not sure, but I’m struggling with it more now that I’m back from the states than I was when I first arrived. While Dar isn’t terrible, it is not on my list of favorite places in terms of ease and enjoyable living. These frustrations associated with living in a developing country don’t help my feeling of being unsettled. Okay, enough of my moaning. I am blessed with so much and I know that where there is emptiness in my soul my Lord will fill it. In this promise I will press on, focusing on the good around me.
One of those ‘good’ moments came in the form of a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). My Dar to USA flight was through Emirates airline and all trips go through Dubai. When booking my ticket, it didn’t cost any extra money to make the connection into an extended layover. Robin, my teacher friend who also accompanied me to Egypt, flew to the states with me. We met back in NYC at the end of our trip and flew to UAE to spend 4 nights and 3 full days. Dubai has been in the news lately because it’s the state of the art modern city that would have gone bankrupt without the bailout from their neighboring emirate (state) Abu Dhabi. Dubai has also recently been the subject of media attention because the week we were there it opened what is now the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower).
The Burj Dubai reaches an astounding 2,717 feet and has 160 floors which are comprised of office spaces, residential apartment for $4,000/sq ft., a mosque, and the world’s highest hotel, the Armani hotel. After purchasing a $30.00 ticket to the world’s tallest observation deck on the 124th floor, Robin and I eventually got to the front of the line and stepped into the fastest elevator in the world, which reached 40 m.p.h. The management team of this building definitely ensured that everything about this building was over the top. The elevator ride was better than many amusement rides. Aside from not being able to actually feel the movement of the elevator at all or any corresponding ear popping, the inside of the elevator was dark. Its walls were black and had small blue lights behind glass designs shaped like the building layout flush to the walls. There was also a flat screen tv built into each wall. As you rose, the tvs rolled with scenes of sky and clouds taken from the perspective of being in them. The lights on the walls illuminated rising up again and again in a staggered pattern so that, in conjunction with the tv and the airy music from the speakers above, made you feel as though you really were rising up. The view at the top was stunning, making the stomach a bit queasy when looking straight down. In keeping with Dubai’s constant effort to be the biggest and the best in everything possible, its commitment to cleanliness certainly is incredible. Nowhere did I ever see liter or any signs of neglect. Even around the mall they had people walking around erasing scuff marks from people’s shoes!
Dubai can be described as Disney World meets Las Vegas in its presentation. It is its own fantasy world, catering to any desire, pushing the boundaries of prosperity, amazing its observer with futuristic concepts and innovations, offering an over abundance of choices, and costing a small fortune! The blending of an Islamic country and Western culture creates an interesting feel to the city. Scenes such as a burqa-clad woman next to another in tight jeans and a halter top left me with the sense that the city really has no identity as its own but rather adopts cultures and customs of all of its visitors. The idea that women in Dubai have so many more freedoms than do women in other Middle Eastern cultures, especially that of its neighbor Saudi Arabia, left me all the more baffled and confused by the line between Islamic expectations and Middle Eastern culture.
This fascination with the Middle East that I had acquired since moving to Tanzania and then even more since visiting Egypt fueled by desire to buy multiple topic oriented books from a bookstore in the Dubai Mall, the world’s largest mall-of course! The book I’m currently reading, The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years (by Bernard Lewis), “…charts the history of the Middle East…from the birth of Christianity through the modern era, focusing on the successive transformations that have shaped it.” I’m not yet a quarter of the way through it but so far it’s an amazing read.
Robin and I spent two whole days in Dubai visiting malls (with aquariums, ice skating rinks, and ski slopes inside!), walking through the gold market in the historic neighborhood, visiting mosques, and trying our best to figure out this over the top concept of Dubai. On our last full day we rented a car early in the morning and took a twelve hour road trip around other emirates (states) in the country. We drove through the Hatta Mountains and the desert sand dunes, along the UAE-Oman border and the Gulf of Oman. The scenery was beautiful and the drive enjoyable.
Looking back on my brief visit to UAE, I deduce that I am glad that I went, especially since the airline didn’t charge me extra. I was able to experience some amazing concepts and designs as well as adding more fuel to the fire of my fascination with the Middle East. Having said that comparing it to all of the other places I have been, I would not recommend a visit for the sole purpose of vacationing in Dubai. It was, however, successful in equipping me with the last few 1st world conveniences I needed to buy before heading back to Tanzania!
I arrived back in Dar three days before school started, which left me with some time to catch up a bit and prepare for the coming term. My arrival also signaled the beginning of my additional role as the new Team Leader for Grade Two. This leadership position is exciting, and the extra work load is forcing me to become a stronger teacher.
My arrival also brought with it some negative ‘welcome home’ presents. First, I was met with an infestation of flying termites in my bedroom. They are absolutely everywhere! One of my bedroom walls is occupied entirely by a built in wardrobe. The termites are feasting on the entire wardrobe as well as my wooden ceiling. The ceiling is an even greater problem because their bodies and wings are falling all over my room. I nightly pick off the dozen or so that have fallen through my mosquito net and onto my bed since my housekeeper left, then I do yet another sweep of the floor and dusting of the furniture to collect their little bodies-yuck! I will have to move everything out of my bedroom later this week when the construction men come to redo my entire bedroom ceiling and replace my built in wardrobe. The rest of my house also needs a new ceiling, but since the little pests aren’t showing themselves yet we will wait until I am away during summer break.
In the midst of this, my hot water heater died as well as my fridge, spoiling all of my meat and dairy. With tons of pent up frustration, I called my ever-amazing parents and had a minor breakdown. I’m since doing much better with a new refrigerator and water heater and a ceiling on the way. It’s times such as these that I can only smile and think of what great stories these will be in years to come.
I have taken pictures of my school and classroom but will wait to take pictures of my house until the bedroom work is completed. As soon as it is finished, I will make a video of my house and post it all at once so that you can finally see where I live. The following link will allow you to view my UAE pictures; I hope that you enjoy!
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