Seashells and Penguins

Ahh... summertime in Dubai. Although many..... MOST people complain about it, I actually LOVE it! For some reason, life is soooooooooooooo soooooooooooooooooooo much more relaxed. I don't know if it is just me personally because I cut back my training in half if not more so have a lot more time on my hands, but I am soo much more relaxed. After my trip to USA and meeting with a family friend that was on a big o obsession with de-cluttering, I have since been on a mission to de-clutter. I know come fall season and beyond when I have minimal time I won't have time for it, so when you're in the mood, best to take advantage of it, right?

Somehow despite of all my vacation and holidays I've taken, I ended up with an extra 2.5 days as stay-cation days, which is AWWWWWEEEEESSSSSSSOOOOOMMMMMMMEEEEEE!!! So just taking the time to clean-up house, de-clutter, and as has been the case since I got back, continue full force with social life. I really must have been living in a hole this winter because it's been super fun being out and about, although not so great on the waistline. Oops!!

One day I spent at the beach, which makes me appreciate Dubai life and having such easy access to it:

Sooo beautiful on a weekday when no one is around!!! Read, relaxed, and just enjoyed the sounds of the gentle waves. 

Then had a friend from Saudi visit. Well, he's a friend from college but has been teaching in Saudi these last few years. One of those random friends so first he wanted to do sky diving, but phew, it was sold out. So we settled on skiing in the Mall of Emirates, which he then changed his mind to settle for bobsledding, zorbing, and petting penguins! I was up for the 1st 2, but had doubts on the penguins as had I not been to Antarctica and saw penguins live? But then thought it is kind of cool to pet them, huh? 

Well, 2 things that caught me by surprise. One is that I REALLY had fun with bobsledding! I was actually like a little kid again and it was laughing and had a lot of fun. The 2nd thing was.... I have NO tolerance to cold anymore! Gasp! I am ashamed to tell any of my Chicago friends how I almost got frostbite in the ski hill inside a mall. No joke, I couldn't feel my toes for a good hour after we went AND my nose was frozen as well as my body. I will have a LOT of adjusting to do when I get back! The penguin experience was actually super fun! Who would have thought penguins could be trained? Funny enough by a Mexican trainer :-) . It was really cool petting them, super soft fine hair and they responded to her cues.

Zorbing!!

Then Penguin Encounter!

A bit different seeing them in a controlled (non-stinky) environment, and I would highly recommend it to visitors! I guess sometimes living here we don't appreciate what Dubai offers. The whole time my friend was saying, "soooo cool. We are n the middle of the desert, it is 40+ degrees C outside, and we are petting penguins. And going bobsledding. And zorbing. And having hot chocolate to warm up." hahahaha. 

Dubai is a pretty cool place!