It’s been a busy two weeks.  Joe landed on Easter, and we had a week of catching up and seeing some sites.  In his short time here he got to play in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, and Dubai.  Saying goodbye was really hard (although my friends and time on the beach made it easier).  A week is not enough time, but I’ll be home for the summer in three months, and then before you know it he’ll be retired and living here with me.  I think he’s ready for the expat life  — his liver maybe not so much.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again I so love my friends.  We manage to really do this living thing well together.  Joe’s first two days here we holed up in Al Ain, but then we joined Suzanne and Craig in Abu Dhabi where we showed Joe a taste of the city night life.  Then we all took off to Muscat for a few days, where we took advantage of our resort’s pool, beach and club room.  We had good intentions to visit the city.  I hear the souk and opera house are must sees, but alas we only waved at them from our taxi.  It’s all good; it’s only a 45 minute flight from Abu Dhabi, so we can visit again and actually do the tourist thing.  This time was all about laughing and loving life.

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Here’s what Suzanne had to write about it.

After Muscat, we headed off to Dubai to catch up with Jordan, Shannan and friends of theirs (who are now also friends of ours).  We splurged on a nice hotel on The Walk and whooped it up, although for Joe and me it was bittersweet since it was also our last night together.

City Lights and Laughter

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This past week was professional development, which worked out for Nasirah (my department chair whom I adore) and me because we pretty much planned out the whole trimester.  It’s good going in knowing we have our resources ready, and by the looks of it we may have only around 6 weeks of teaching because our exams have been moved up.  I’m not complaining, but my poor girls are going to be slammed with studying.   It’s okay, they’re tough, they can handle it.  I can’t believe my time with them is almost finished. The school year has gone by as fast as my breaks.

Last night some of my friends — same old crew, so really they’re more like sisters/cousins — came over for dinner, and tonight I’ll go over to Shannan’s for a cookout at her place, so basically I have a few more days of kicking back before the mad dash to the final exam line begins.  While I’m missing my people back home, I’m still totally content and grateful to be over here.  It’s weird to be so at peace when the world around me is losing its shit.  I’ll keep hoping the rest of the world will catch up with our little corner and learn to relax, love life and be productive in a good way.