A Girl Could Get Used To This

Before I get started, I wanted to put up a couple maps so everyone can see where UAE is at. When Randy first mentioned moving to UAE, I had to google it to find it. I had never heard of it before.

This map is the general area that UAE is in:


This map is a little closer and you can see the proximity to Dubai:


Artem and I arrived Friday night into Dubai after a pleasant and uneventful flight, minus Artem throwing up the chocolate shake he shared with me two hours prior in the airport, but other than that, Artem was a great traveller, did fantastic on the six hour layover in Atlanta and slept nine hours of the sixteen hour flight from Atlanta to Dubai. I could not have asked for more.

We are settling in nicely to our new place in Abu Dhabi. You might remember that our first home here was a seven bedroom, nine bathroom villa in a neighborhood without expats, only locals, and I was very lonely and bored. The new "flat" as they call them here, is in a very desireable location downtown and there will be plenty for Artem and I to do. As a matter of fact, tomorrow morning I have my first coffee with the Abu Dhabi Women's group and I'm hoping to meet some new people to get together with.

Below is a picture of our building, it's called the Abela building even though it has a giant Damac sign on top. On the first floor of the building there is a grocery store called Abela's and that's where it gets it's name. Look on the top floor, all the way to the right, and you'll see our balcony and flat. It's a two-story flat and a fairly good size. It's not a 7 bedroom villa, but we've managed to fit. *insert sarcasm*

We have a live-in maid in our new place. Her name is Priyanti and she's from Sri Lanka and I have no idea why I did not get a live-in sooner!! If you don't have a live-in maid, I HIGHLY recommend you getting one and fast. She keeps this place spotless, literally, and as soon as I put dirty dishes in the sink, she cleans them. She mops and dusts constantly, the garbage in the bathroom is emptied daily, and tonight she was misting and dusty the leaves on the plants. At our house in Texas, my fake plants are lucky if they get put outside once every two years to let the central Texas winds blow them clean. Priyanti would faint if she saw the dust bunnies that lurk under our couch and heaven help her if she saw the top of the entertainment center; a small herb garden could thrive in the amount of dust that's on there. I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to return to reality back in the states. I wonder how Priyanti feels about America??

Back to the grocery store at the bottom of our building...I went shopping today with Artem and bought as much "western" food as I could. Grape Nuts, Campbell's soup, Oscar Meyer hotdogs (no Kosher hotdogs Stef), Cheetos, and assorted fruits and vegetables. It's fairly easy to have a taste of home here but the thing I love most about the groceries here are the fruits, they are delicious and much better than what we get in the states. Today I bought grapes, tomatos, and plums and they were all so good. They import the majority of their fruits and vegetables and label them according to what country they came from. I find that I don't buy any from the states as they aren't as tasteful as some of the other countries they import from like Holland, China, and Africa. When we leave I will miss the fruit. Anyway, I check out and get ready to lug all my bags upstairs and the bagger starts to push my buggy. I told him I had to carry them myself as I did not drive and he points up and says, "What room?" I didn't know our flat number and told him such and he starts to push the buggy anyway and pushed all my bagged groceries right into our lobby, up in the elevator, and straight to my door. He stood at my door and unloaded all my bags. I tell you, between a live-in maid and a man that delivers my groceries to my door, a girl could get used to this life!! You gotta love how service oriented UAE is and you know, when in Rome...

Our building:


Our new flat is right next to the Corniche, which was recently "remodeled" and is a heavily used area. The Corniche runs the length of the Persian Gulf and is made up of gardens, bike and running trails, and my favorite spot on the Corniche...Baskin Robbins! I took Artem out today in the jogging stroller and we went for a spin on the Corniche. We stopped at a smoothie shop and split a strawberry/orange smoothie while sitting outside watching the waves roll in. It was heaven and was one of those moments where time kind of stood still and I just looked at Artem in amazement at what an incredible son we have been blessed with.

Here are a few pictures of the Corniche. Some of the Corniche butts right up to the water, while other areas have large beaches and play areas for the kids.


Walking path along the Corniche:


Randy says it looks almost like Destin, FL on the Corniche. I told him, "Yep, just like it, minus the 30 foot tall billboard of the Sheikhs. (pronounced Shake)


One of the many gazebos along the Corniche. On weekends and evenings, the place is packed.


Flowers are everywhere here and they do an excellent job of keeping everything manicured and full of color.


Artem has gone from compliant subject for me to photograph, to a picture hungry, "cheese" saying, little boy. I had the camera out taking pictures of the scenery and I heard him saying, "CHEESE!" over and over again trying to get my attention so I would take his picture.


I think this is about all I can handle right now for an update. Please forgive the typos as spell check does not work for some reason when I'm here in Abu Dhabi. I'm still trying to get adjusted to the time zone. Artem has been waking up at 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. every night and sleeping until 11:00 a.m. until I finally wake him up. In the afternoons the jet lag is taking it's toll on him even though we ask him if he's tired and he says, "no mim" (ma'am). I think the jet lag won in this picture! Bless his little heart.


I'll have more for you in a few days along with some of the funny signs I've seen here in Abu Dhabi. The signing commission here must really have a sense of humor!