The Act of Kindness

In our crazy world today, I won't say "rare," but it's not too common to have those 'acts of kindness' by people. Sometimes when you hear on TV or the radio someone doing a good deed, you think, "awww... that's so nice," when really, it should be normal thing. I always remember my travels to 3rd world countries when people without even shoes offering me a little treat, or food, when I was on a local bus or train. I remember thinking, "wow, there really are good people out there" and "that would never happen back home." :-) 

Well, here in Dubai, I've had the fortune of coming across few of them. Yes, this is a place that people really look after themselves, no doubt about that, BUT you can get lucky, as I have.

1st, it was the couple I stayed with for um.... not one, not two, but a little more than 3 months (not to mention 6 weeks in the spring of 2011). I can talk about their generosity and kindness all day.

Then comes Kay and family. It's actually kind of a funny story. When I came in mid-April of last year, I remember, it was a Wednesday, the 1st thing on my agenda was to send a package back home to the US for my good friends birthday a couple of weeks later. Note to any traveler: Going to the post office anywhere can give you a glimpse of life in that country. The post office is obviously run by the government, hence locals work there (in the case of Dubai, that says a lot! That's a topic for another day), and ... we'll you'll see:

So I grab a ticket, which by the way, ANYWHERE you go in Dubai, there is a ticket stand, wait my turn, put my stuff on the counter and say.... as I have in all countries around the world, "I need to send this to United States." The guy looks at me, and in slllloooooooow motion (people as I learned, generally move sloooowly here), grabs a form, tells me to fill it out. So I do. Then I have to wait in line again. I go to the same counter, and give him the filled out form. He looks at it, kinda shuffles some things around, and then says "ooohh! United States? We no send packages there!" And I said, "umm... I just told you I was sending a package to the States and it didn't seem to be a problem." And he, in his bad English, kinda mumbles something (and this is coming from being a mumbler myself), tells something to someone behind him, and another person joins, and they are all talking in Arabic about... who knows what (who's having what for dinner?). I'm just standing there and finally, after about 10 minutes, he says, "Sorry madam. We no send packages to the United States. Try the main post office." Uh oh... here we go. I tried to get out of him a 'why not' and he tried to say something about the politics that was going on that time (April 2011... when there was all this upheaval in the Middle East, Tunisia, Libya, etc), and basically the States were cracking down and were really restricting people from sending things and because it was a smaller post office, they didn't get involved in that. 

As it was Day 1 for me, I had no phone or anything. I put on my girly charm (haha), and ask him to use his phone to call a taxi, which he does. Then came the word that would be all to familiar with me later when I would come to move here, "coming." Ahhh... "coming" - when people say that, that doesn't mean they are coming. It doesn't even  mean they are on their way, it's just a phrase that means, "I heard what you had to say and this is the only way I can respond." Although I had just come back from traveling the world and have dealt with these kind of things, I figured "coming" meant 15-20 minutes? So I'm waiting... and waiting.... an hour passes. I go to the guy again and have them call the taxi again, "coming, madam. Coming." The 2nd hour passes. Nothing. I have him call that "main post office" and have them check to see not only make sure I can send it from there but also how late they were open, "yes yes, madam. Coming and it's open." Again, I found a lot in Asia, people RARELY say "no" or "I don't know." They will give an answer... just to give an answer. Middle East is no different. 

As you can imagine, I was getting a wee bit frustrated. Little did I come to realize, it was Thursday evening at this point, which is kinda like a Friday evening at home, and basically, it's impossible to get a taxi then. Impossible. But again, naive little me kept on waiting thinking, "they must be on their way." 

Then Kay walks in, you could just tell she was a pro. She knew how to talk to them, got what she had to get done... sees me, obviously looked frustrated, and says something like "how are things going?" And I gave her my little spheal how I wanted to send something to the States, they told me I couldn't, I'm trying to go to the main post office, it's my first day in Dubai, blah blah. 1st thing she says is "you will never find a taxi on a Thursday night" and 2nd, "are you sure it's open?" Well, luckily, during my 23049823043098 visits to the counter to ask him if he can call again and again the taxi service, I did know they were open, but for like another 1/2 an hour, which literally was like 3 hours after I got there. So she tells me to go with her because she has to catch a taxi as well, and she will help me. It was like an angel waltzed in. Phew! So like magic, we hail one and she ends up going with me because she could tell I was totally lost and confused. She not only goes with me to the main post office, we make the taxi wait for us, we run in, but she soothes me when we find out that anything over 8 ounces is NOT permitted to the States. At all. The ONLY way for a package to be sent is through a courier service. Ahh...... so you know there is a point when things are going wrong that you kinda don't care anymore? After literally spending practically the whole day at the post office when they could have told me this right away SHOULD have gotten me really upset, but I just didn't even care anymore.

What came out of all that is a friendship.

Kay had given me her phone number and I called her to thank her and after a week or so, she checked in on me, and invited me to this Easter party she hosts (she runs a daycare). So I went... at that time, I wasn't working and had nothing else to do, and we ended up hanging out and it was fun. Kay's almost my mom's age, and after a year of travel, it was nice to have a 'mother figure' around.

Fast forward almost a year now, Kay and I kept in touch, when I came back for "good", we went to a few dinners and enjoyed each other's company. Then she just happen to call me to check in during my week o desperation, when I would become homeless. She offered her place right away, she lives in a villa and has multiple bedrooms for her 3 sons. I was keeping it as a backup however, it ended up becoming my only option. 

So here I am now, with Kay and her family. They have treated me sooooo sooooo nicely! When I first arrived, they made a 'family' dinner to welcome me, they tidied up the room where I am staying with so much that it almost looked like it is a hotel. Then it was her helping staff - who are Sri Lankan - they have cooked traditional Sri Lankan meals. BTW, they asked me to look at my pictures from there (hehehe, they are in for a treat! I don't think they realize I have like 0234823048329 of them! hahah!), and it's just been have been soooo sooo nice!

And again, it reminds me that there are good people in the world today.

To Kay and family, and all the nice people out there who have helped me along the way, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!!

My Life in a Car

Life is all about transitions: School <-> work, unemployed <-> employed, single <-> involved, no kids -> kids, moving to new places, etc.

Here is a BIG transition for me:

Going from a 4-bedroom house in a suburb of Chicago (this is me the day I was leaving for Dubai, sniff sniff):

To....

No joke, I am officially living out of my car (which I just bought 2 days ago, BTW).

The pro's:

• Everything is right there, all I have to do is shuffle a little and I find what I am looking for. 
• Everything is literally riding along with me. No forgetting stuff because it is all there =>
• Convenience!

The con's:

• I'm living out of my car.

To recap, I was comfortably, almost too comfortably, staying with these family friends. Suddenly last week, my friend's mom had to make an urgent trip here... and it was my time to go. I stuffed my car with all the things that I had at their place to make room for the mom, and off I went. As per my previous blogs, I DO have a place, but it won't be ready for a week or so. Eek. So now I am pretty much bouncing around friends places, literally couchsurfing, with a traveling suitcase of things I need... and a car full of my crap. 

On one hand, I'm actually fairly impressed with myself that I accomplished a longtime goal: Downsizing. I was spoiled with my life in Chicago because I had this big o house almost to myself, so I liberally stuffed it with .... "stuff." I always had the idea of getting rid of things, but then again, I had the space for it, so nothing ever happened. After a summer of backbreaking (literally and figuratively) massive work of selling stuff, garage sales, giving away stuff, endless cleaning and detoxing of things, I left to Dubai with a couple of suitcases and one room of storage in Chicago. In the almost 4 months I've been here, I'm happy to say I don't have any more than what I came with. I purposely didn't buy anything because I didn't have a place to put it. That has been a great fortune because everything has fit in a car!

Ahh..... how life is unpredictable and how things change.

Lesson #21: One word: Downsize!

I Got a Car!!!

You may not pay attention to this, but if you see the dates of this blog and the previous one, you will see it is the SAME day, February 11th, 2012. This was a BIG day for me because not only did I get an apartment, BUT I also FINALLY got my car!!!! Woo hoo!!!

2 months ago I happen to have one a colleague from work as a patient, and really randomly the topic of cars came up and she told me that another colleague was selling his. She gave me some info, definitely sounded up my alley as far as color (heheh, the most important!), size, mileage, and year. Helloo? The last few years in Chicago I drove a 1994 Geo Chevrolet Prizm, so pretty much anything over the year 2000 was a major upgrade for me. This is a 2006 Nissan Tidda. I took a look at it, and basically after some little negotiations, was like "I'll take it!" I know NOTHING about cars, and I was under so much stress with everything else, that was just something I DID not have to worry about. A rash sudden decision? Maybe, but honestly, I was and still am totally comfortable with it. I just need a car that takes me from Point A and Point B. And yes, Dubai is a place for showing off, but I'm not one of those people and this car is perfect for me. So this "deal" may have been back in December and he told me it won't be available until mid to late January. Fine. As long as I knew it was going to be in the near future, I would continue with my taxi's and metro'ing.

So January kinda comes and goes. February creeps up on us, and finally, as things in Dubai goes, when you're not aggressive with something, nothing happens. I confronted him and said "I need this... NOW!" And did a little sob story how I'm going broke taking taxi's, I'm not even experiencing life in Dubai because I can't get around (which is true), and blah blah. So it was the kick in the butt he needed, and we decided to go through the process that next weekend, which was last weekend. Buuuut I needed to get car insurance first and that set us back a week. Fine. I was a bit anxious because things in Dubai are typically backwards and everything seems like 023480328439 times more complicated than it really is, BUT thanks again to advice from patients, I got a few names of some good companies, called around, got the best quote for what I wanted and needed, and once I decided, it took all of 1/2 an hour to take care of (in case you are in Dubai, I got RSA (Royal Sun Alliance)):

Insurance: Check.

Next, transfer of car.

Uh oh.... again, the insurance seemed fairly easy, so I was doubtful about how this would go. So this morning, he picked me up, we went to their version of the DMV, got the car inspected (basically making sure there are no problems with the car. If there were, then he would of course have to pay for all the repairs), bought some stupid triangle reflective thing they require, give them a copy of my passport, visa, license, and insurance confirmation, pay a fee (of course), they did the transfer, and wah-la! Got my "vehicle license" card, and that was pretty much it! It may have took a little over an hour to do all that?? The last thing standing is this thing called Salik which is their version of the "toll." You buy this sticker and basically like an I-Pass (for you Chicago people), you keep driving and it scans your card, basically deducting it and you just pay for it on credit. Fairly straightforward.

So here are the fees for buying a 2nd hand car (this is for Feb 2012!) in care you're wondering how things go in Dubai:

• Car insurance (and this can obviously vary. I went through an international company with a good reputation, comprehensive coverage): 1591 dh for the year ($433 USD). There is cheaper, but it was fine for me. 
• "Passing" the vehicle test (the buyer making sure the seller has a good car and nothing wrong with it): 120 dh ($33 USD)
• A triangle reflector for emergency: 30 dh ($8 USD)
• Vehicle registration: 330 dh ($90 USD)
• Salik (the toll system): 100 dh ($27 USD)

TOTAL: $591 USD

Have I mentioned that you really can't survive Dubai without money in your pocket??

Lesson # 20: DO NOT come to Dubai without a fair amount of money in your pocket! 

So here it is! Watch out Dubai, here I come!!!

When It Rains, It Pours

Yes, it may sound odd to talk about rain and pouring rain in a desert, even more so that I haven't seen rain since I've been here, buuuut it was the only way to describe the last couple of weeks for me. I have to admit for some reason, it was the hardest for me since I've been here. It was a combination of the time that was passing and I felt like I wasn't going anywhere... mostly talking about finding an apartment. Then it was waiting for a co-worker to "be ready" to sell me his car, and blah blah blah, a bunch of things were adding up.

So after I got back from Germany, I finally picked up my game with the apt hunting. BUT, it wasn't as straightforward as I would have hoped. One is that I was confused about what I 'really' wanted - location, cost, amenities. I probably made the mistake of pretty much talking to every patient about it... and hence receiving like 203843208324 different versions of "what's best." One would said, "hey, check out this area! It's great!" And then the next would be like, "bah! No way! Don't go there at all!" So of course the best way to see it is by going to check out yourself, right? Well, I was a little set back again not having a car, but managed to mosey around a little bit. The problem I faced though is that I have been TOTALLY spoiled to where I have stayed the last couple of months, Jumeirah area, which is right ON the beach (sweeet!) and then the heart of downtown (niiiiiice!). The "cheaper" areas are the areas that are a little more crowded, umm.... let's just say a little more 'diverse,' and I dunno.. I kept on finding things that I didn't like (again, having 'the best' to compare it to). Then I was toying with the idea of having a roommate, you know, split costs = more savings = more money for fun stuff like traveling.

So needless to say, I was TOTALLY running around in circles and totally getting more and more confused and as I am doing all these big decisions by myself, it made it harder to pretty much decide anything! :-)

THEN, at the time it didn't seem like it, but it later became a blessing in disguise. The friends I was staying with was having family coming in... like 3 days later, and basically that meant I had to evacuate. ASAP. So I went from a period of confusion and frustration to.... utter panic. I was officially going to be homeless in like .2 days. Eek!!! Being that I know .0002 people (literally, like a handful), these aren't BFF's that I feel totally comfortable being like "Uhhh.... sooo... do you mind if I crash at your place?" Long story short, a doctor at our clinic just happened to be leaving out of town for almost a week, and I kinda, in a roundabout way, worked my magic to stay at his plae while he was gone. Fortunately, he's super cool and actually alluded to me staying there himself. So I have SOME sort of cushion... until later this week. Then it's a matter of befriended the few friends I have to stay with them. LUCKILY, Dubai is a place where things change almost immediately and almost EVERYONE either had gone through a sudden urgent crisis or knows or has helped someone who has. So no one really thought my situation was a big deal, phew!

Why is it a blessing in disguise? It REALLY REALLY picked up my apartment hunting game. If this hasn't happened, who knows how much longer I would have stalled? Loooooong story short, I had seen one complex that I REALLY REALLY REALLY liked.... buuuut it was a little over the budget I had initially planned. Again, I was still in that confusion state of what's best for me. So I pow-wow'd apt hunting and for some reason, I was always comparing what I was seeing to this nice initial complex. Then, after like my 32048302480348023480923480238th panic attack of the week (literally, again, this week was probably the hardest since I've been here), I had a good conversation with my parents and some good friends and they made me realize my goals and values of coming to Dubai, anddddddd... I TOOK IT! When I went back and saw it again, I just had that feeling, "this is it!" When I first saw it I had a good vibe and intuition about it, and then when I saw it again, I was like "what was I thinking? This is sooooo it!" Yes, it is a little over the budget I set for myself, BUT EVERYTHING else is great - the location (close to work, close to downtown, close to Dubai Mall), the amenities (a fab-u-lous pool, good work-out facility, tennis courts, squash courts), the community (it has a grocery store, coffee shops, restaurants in the complex), and the actual apt itself has sunlight, big window, a little balcony, decent size... and I just felt comfy there. I felt good that I at least did see some other stuff, but sometimes you just have to go with your instincts and what feels right. And this is it!

After that was done, I felt literally like a stone was lifted off my shoulder. I didn't realize how much it was literally weighing me down, but I got through it! The ONLY little setback is that they said that technically my contract starts March 1st because they have to do some maintenance on it, BUT "most likely" will be available a little earlier, so I have to couchsurf a little bit, which is going to be a hassle, but at least there is an end in sight! Phew!

Here are some pics of Al Marooj Complex and my new 1-bedroom apt:

And this is how I feel now... after feeling the opposite these last couple of weeks! hahahahah!