So there are a couple of topics which I have been meaning to talk about. I'd like to give a few examples of some of the cultural differences I've been learning about. Also, I'd like to talk about being away from my family.

There is a class structure here that I will describe. There are three groups, Emirates (or native peoples), Expats (usually well paid visitors from western countries), and then a much lower level group of laborers (from other countries who are paid little and usually do not speak English). I will refrain from passing judgment on this system, but it is definitely different enough to mention here.

In the parking lot of my building, there is a group of laborers who spend the day washing cars, and accept a tip when you arrive back to your car. You can ask them to wash your car, but sometimes they just wash them with the hope of getting a tip. I have been shopping for groceries at the supermarket directly below my apartment in my building (sweet location) and there are laborers who help when you arrive at the check stand. They load your groceries onto the belt, and then rush ahead of you to do the bagging. Then they will follow you out to the car and load your bags into your trunk. Since I live right above the market, the guy will take my bags all the way up to my apartment. It’s a nice service but feels a little unfair. But this is standard operating procedure here.

When you are out walking along the Corniche or along some of the streets, you may see some Arab men holding hands. Gorka has told me that they are not gay, but simply expressing their friendship. I have not seen it yet, but sometimes they may actually nuzzle their noses together in a sort friend kiss. I Googled this to try to learn more, but I couldn’t find much.

Last thing, five times a day, a city wide sound can be heard reverberating through the streets. It sounds like a hymn. This is a call to prayer. Two of my co-workers are Muslim, and they will go upstairs and pray a couple of times a day. They don’t drop what they are doing and go, but when they have an opportunity, they go. Very few Muslims actually do the prayer five times a day, but I suppose some do.

I miss the kids already. Only been a week, but I miss them. Brielle’s smile, her curls in my face, her energy. Josh trying to scare me when I come home from work, his telling me about his day at school, and his hug goodnight. I also miss Christine….a lot. I’ve been away before for 5-6 days at a conference, but not on the other side of the world. The distance makes it much more real.

My company has been great by supplying a webcam system. Christine can just pick up a phone in our house and by dialing my work extension the webcam just starts automatically. It works amazingly well. So once and sometimes twice a day, we make a call with the webcam and I can talk to and see my family. Brielle likes to kiss and hug the computer monitor before we hang up.

A freak 10 minute rain storm. 10 minutes later, everything was dry agian.

Me, Gorka, and Abdullah checking out the freak rain storm. Gorka is my co-worker, a senior project engineer from Miami and Abdullah is our office assistant from India.

Not related to the rainstorm at our office, here are a few pictures of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai, being hit my lightening. I'm not sure if I'd want to live in this building after seeing this. (Actually, tall buildings are specially designed with a grounding wire which takes any lightning strike safely through the building to the ground.)