Halloween in Al Ain!

Yes, they DO celebrate Halloween in the UAE. You can buy costumes at party stores, Daiso ( a Japanese dollar store) and ACE Hardware.

Our band played a Halloween party at the Palm Golf Club and there was enough time left over for me to head to a Halloween party at a friend's house!

Kids heckling the guitar player!

Me as Foxy Cleopatra! I bought this lovely lime green emsemble when I lived in Alexandria.

Me and Jeremy

My Ohio buddy, Cullen!

At a party with Felicidade as Happy Feet.

Frida Kahlo. Nice 'stache!

Wow. My dress matches the wall.

BMW Safety Campaign

The number one killer of young men here is by traffic accidents. They drive unbelievably recklessly by speeding (I'm talking double the speed limit), cutting across lanes, tailgating...the list goes on and it is really unnerving to be driving on the road with them. I can barely stand it.

BMW came to our campus for a safety awareness campaign. They stressed the importance of safe driving and had demonstrations showing how wearing a seatbelt can save your life.

One of my students in a car demonstrating how a seat belt will hold you in place in case of a rollover.

Wigs n' Quizzes

My friend and co-worker, Duncan, shares a birthday with me. He had a fun wig party at his villa!

Do blondes have more fun? That's me with the camouflage shirt.

Having a sing-a-long.

Some dudes from work.

Is that Dame Edna?

Monday night is Quiz Night at my favorite hangout, The Hilton Hotel. My team, The Amigos, along with my 3 colleagues, Jaweed, John and Guy, are there faithfully every week in hopes of winning a free dinner for two at the buffet restaurant at the hotel.

Free birthday cake!

Make a wish!

Chalkie, the quiz master. He's from east London and I can barely understand a word he says.

We better win!

Our rivals from another section of the college. They get so pissed when we win! ha ha.

42nd Birthday: Ski Dubai!

So, I had to find something cool and exciting to do for my 42nd birthday. Middle of the desert, what do do? I know, I'll go skiing!!! My birthday isn't actually for 4 more days, but Monday is a working day and Quiz Night!

Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski slope in the Middle East. Tom Cruise was here last year when he was filming Mission: Impossible 4. It's located at the Mall of the Emirates which is one of the largest shopping malls in the world.

Ready to go!

It has ski lifts and everything!

It's like a giant hamster ball. And people can laugh at you while they sit in the restaurants surrounding the snow park!

Love this sign

Lisa!!! We got lost on the way back.

Abu Dhabi 5th Annual Film Festival

This year, I had to make another trip to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. I was especially fascinated with the Emirates Film Short Competition. Mad Camel was my favorite. I loved the baby with the giant unibrow!

This year I went with the women that live in my building. We made a stop at Emirates Palace and I contemplated buying some gold from the ATM. That's right, they have a gold ATM machine.

Driving back from Abu Dhabi. I have been trying to get a picture of this sign forever!

Smash Up UAE Style

Well it was inevitable -again. I crashed my car -again. What happened you ask?

Well, I guess it was "one of those days." It was the 13th and looked like a full moon outside. I tried to use my ATM card and it wouldn't work. So, I went to the local grocery store called "Lulu's" to try and use theirs. Still wouldn't work. Fine. So I went home. I reached in to my purse to grab my phone to call the bank. No phone. What the hell? I looked everywhere! I finally reached the (I thought reasonable) conclusion that I must have somehow put my phone down on the ATM machine at Lulu's. After all, I was SURE I remembered having it in my hand when I was there. CRAP!It was a Thursday night, so traffic was a mess, but before I tell you the rest of the story, let me explain a few things about driving here in the UAE. I think I can do it in one sentence. IT IS A TOTAL NIGHTMARE! Seriously. People drive fast, erratically and recklessly. I'd say I have to try and avoid being hit by other cars at least 3 times EACH time I leave my house to go somewhere. It is really bad and people are killed every day.

Anyway, back to the story. I pulled out into traffic and had to get into the left lane to do a u-turn around the roundabout. People are so freaking rude that they won't let you in. I saw an open space and jumped in, but couldn't quite get my car totally in the lane. I put my foot on the brake and stopped. Suddenly. BOOM! The ass I got in front of smashed into the side of my car. Jerk wasn't looking! He called the cops on me. The way my car was angled, it looked like I cut him off. Prick knew it and he wouldn't move his car. I knew I was going to get the ticket, so I yelled and screamed at him until the cops came. I figured if I was going to get the blame, then I was going to make him as uncomfortable as possible.

Sure enough the cop came and gave me the ticket. He didn't understand my explanation of what happened at all or maybe didn't care because it is said that when an Emirati and a foreigner get in to an accident, the foreigner will always get the blame. To make it even worse...the cop tried hitting on me after the other guy drove away! Not a smart thing to do when I just got the ticket!

Anyway, I finally made it to Lulu's and no phone. I called it over and over and it just kept ringing. The next morning I drove to work to see if it was there. Sure enough, there it was sitting on my desk with 33 missed calls! Ugh!

Oh Mehran! I need you!