A little bit of PARADISE - Maldives!

Aahh... there are times in life when everything comes together.

As per my last post, there was ??? about going to Maldives after my parents had to cancel their trip here and Europe after everything was already paid for and booked. Well, to make a long story short, it basically worked out best for me to have a detox R&R for a few days out there. I still went although it is not known to be a trip for independent travels, but hey - that hasn't stopped me before!

What can I say? Maldives is really deserving of all the hype - isolated island, totally picturesque with the crystal clear waters and clean white sand, and just a calm and soothing place. I stayed at Velassaru, which I later found out was just rated as one of the top Small Luxury Hotel in the Maldives. Go me! The staff was amazingly friendly, helpful, and professional. They were all totally at your service. When I went scuba diving, I couldn't help feeling totally spoiled because unlike most dive trips when you have to lug all your equipment around, everything was all ready for me on the boat when I boarded and when it came time to dive, I literally sat there, lifted up my arms, they put on my BCD, I did the dive, they took it off and ... that was pretty much all the work I did except for the dive itself. Ha! No carrying all this equipment, no washing the equipment, no checking of the equipment - it was all done for us! Not too shabby :-)

The time went by quickly, 2 days I did diving, 1 day I did a massage, and the rest I read, relaxed, read some more, napped, caught up on stupid American TV, had some "deep thoughts about life" time (i.e. there may be some work changes soon!), and before I knew it, I was already back on the plane to Dubai. It truly was a magical (EXPENSIVE!) trip, but I am soo glad I went and it worked out that I could go. I of course was sad that my parents couldn't be there with me to enjoy it, but hopefully we can go another time. I would def go back!

So nothing describes it like a few pictures, so here goes:

Enough said :-)

Unpredictability (and bdays!)

It's that time of year.... MY BDAY! Just a couple of days ago on April 27th, and can't believe that a year has flown by. Last year I was still a "newbee" to Dubai and spent the weekend in Ras Al Khaimah (another Emirate) to see another Emirate and also just to have a little getaway. Now life in Dubai is more established and although still lots to learn, I'm definitely more settled and comfortable.

This year, after much debate, I decided to stay in Dubai. My bday fell on a Saturday and wanted to take advantage of the weekend and not travel too much (especially that I just took a continuing education course that took 2 weekends in a row and I just needed a full weekend!). 

Now comes my topic of Unpredictability.... a bit different than the "Changes" one I wrote about a little awhile ago (hmm... am I getting more philosophical? haha). A few things happened over the weekend that reminded me how unpredictable life can be and how to take things in stride.

1.  On Friday before my bday I was on skype with my parents and after a little catch up and a few happy bday singing to me, came "welll...... we have some bad news." Ugh oh. When parents say that, you know it's not good. Just like that my heart fell. Then came "we have to cancel our trip to Belgrade, Dubai, and Maldives (which was going to be a little belated bday present) in May." My heart fell a little more. To make a looooong loooooong story short, my dad's hospital had an unexpected emergency situation, some management and restructuring, and because my dad is on the board of the hospital and chairman, he basically was chosen to lead discussions on all these topics, deal with media, lawyers, etc. As this JUST happened and he is somewhat in charge, there is no way he can leave in the midst of a crisis. Although my heart fell with the news that they can't come, which I was really looking forward to their visit, it swelled up again knowing my dad is a true true leader and hero. The situation sounds like a true mess, but he is staying calm, staying positive, and trying to pull everyone together to get through this crisis. I am so proud of him! I can imagine how tough it is with all the pressure around and all the changes, but he is being proactive and again, leading by example - keeping spirits up and bringing "courage under fire" as they say. They are hoping when things settle a bit, they can come later this year or early next year. "In shallah" as they say here, translation "god willing," or "I hope so!"

2. Having my bday at the end of April and growing up in Chicago, I would say more than 1/2 my bdays have been rainy. But ah ha, NOW I am living in the desert where it hardly ever rains so I put that possibility wayyy behind me. For my bday I planned a "Beach Day" with some 15 or so of my friends, just to lounge around, catch up, go walking and swimming, just relax by the beach! The day before I did some grocery shopping and fortunately, bought healthy snacks that I would be happy to have as leftovers. So Saturday rolls around and I wake up and it is looking quite gloomy. I didn't think too much about it. Then I had to run a quick errand and I felt a few drops of rain. Hmmm??? Then a friend called me to ask me if the beach day was still going on considering the rain. Uh oh. I look up "hourly weather in Dubai" and see progressive 50% chance of rain... then 60% chance of rain... then 70% chance of rain right about the time that I was going to have people get together in the afternoon. Seriously????/ I've been in Dubai for a little more than 1.5 years and I literally can count on ONE hand how many times it has rained. Of ALL the days... my bday?! Okay, I quickly thought of a Plan B, to meet at a really nice Cafe (usually quiet and empty with good food) in my complex. So fortunately everyone still made it and we just had a nice get together and celebration. Sooo... it all worked out! It really poured that day and... I'm trying to think positive that it is a sign of good luck for the rest of the year :-) It's still odd to me to have a completely "new" group of friends because for the last decade I've been celebrating with more or less the same people from home (whom I miss!). Here's a snap of myself and my 2 co-workers, Caterina and Helen. 

3. So a friend that I  literally haven't seen in almost 6 months (for some reason, it's always impossible to get together, but we've been on contact over email, etc) popped in for my bday, which was super nice and a bit unexpected because she really wasn't sure if she could come by at all. So we were just chatting and she was talking about "desperately" needing a R&R vacation. My ears popped up, "what was that?" Soooo.... loong story short, and this isn't even confirmed yet, BUT as our trip to Maldives is paid for and booked, I HATED the idea to cancel it all (plus, this is the 3RD time I've been trying to get there, ugh), sooo..... cross your fingers that she decides to go and my Maldives dream will be fulfilled! Of course I'm sorry to not be there with my parents, and they were soooo nice about me still going, but it will always be there and hopefully we can go at another time :-)  Totally unpredictable that she not only stopped by at my bday gathering in the 1st place, BUT that she has the time off and $$ for it (that's the biggest hold back for people, it's uber expensivo). 

4. The last of the last... babies. All mom's are given an expected birth date, but it's completely unpredictable when he/she wants to enter the world. Well, my cousin Alex and his wife Amanda were expecting their baby to be born the 3rd week of May (forgot the date). Then on the 4/26 I hear that Amanda is on the way to the hospital... excitement grows that there will be 2 Pavlovic's born on April 27th! And lo and behold, I got the message after midnight (kept me up!) that baby Grace Elizabeth Pavlovic was born at 1:35 om on April 27th, after a good 30 hours of labor (wow!!!), 6 lbs and 6 oz and 18 inches. We are all soooooooooooooooooo excited!! I'm a "tetka" (auntie in Serbian)!!! Mom, dad, and baby are doing great. From Kansas (that's where they live) to Chicago (my parents) to Georgia (where my uncle and aunt live) to Nebraska (where my other cousin, his brother) to Vermont (my brother and fam) to Spain (my sister) and Dubai, Pavlovic celebrations are going on all over the world!!! Here's a picture (so cute! I had those puffy cheeks when I was born!):

Soo... there you have it, a few unexpected events, but life is unpredictable like that. Somehow things always work out!

Sandstorms

Growing up in Chicago, discussing the weather has taken up good hours and hours and hours of conversation. Especially wintertime. Even here in Dubai, I hear about crazy winter conditions and I reach out to friends from home. It has supplied endless hours of conversation for me.

Well, here in Dubai there is no such thing as a winter storm, BUT there ARE sandstorms. I have seen some here and there pass through, but nothing was like this past weekend when we had a MAJOR sandstorm. Before I go any further, I have to say sandstorms here are NOT like the Mission Impossible 3 with Tom Cruise, when you have this immediate and sudden mass of sand coming at you. Ooohhhh no (I've had to explain that far too many times). Usually it's a little cloudy and windy and life goes on. Well, this weekend not only did the sun disappear completely (hmph. Why was it the ONLY weekend I finally had time to R&R at the beach that this happened?), but it was extremely windy with sand blowing all over the place (even in places like my apt which is no where near the sand) AND it RAINED!!!! Because rain happens soo rarely here, this was quite exciting.

Just like those cold, bitter winter days when it is snowing and snowing and you just want to sit inside and cuddle in a blanket, have some tea, and veg out in front of the TV, here it was nearly the same. We are TOTALLY spoiled that it is sunny 90% of the time, so with NO sun out, it was fairly gloomy and nothing like a little hibernation for the weekend. I also have to say it's a bit dangerous to be outside because the fine sand is sooo fine that it's a hazard for the eyes and it literally gets all over the place (it can cause a lot of problems for cars too).

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures, but it would have shown a grey sky with like a couple hundred meter visibility. The Burj Kalifa was totally hidden, you could probably see only up to floor 25 out of 150 (or whatever it is) and the "skyline"  (the only reason I " " this is because being from Chicago, which has an AMAZING skyline, the one here is like 10% of ours) disappeared completely.

The GOOD news of all this is that 0234320432048392 years later, okay 4+ months, I FINALLY finished my photo book of Antarctica!!!! It has been quite a project and VERY time consuming, but I am proud of the end result and wanted to share: http://travellen007.shutterfly.com/pictures/8. There are also links to other photobooks I've made from my trip to Rwanda and Uganda and also my World Trip from a couple of years ago.

Sooo.... life in Dubai is NOT all about fun in the sun, it can be about no fun in the sand!

Happy April everyone!!

Changes

My last few blogs were mostly about, well ALL about travel. But yes, I haven't written too much about "My Life as an Expat."

The thing about Dubai is that you have to get used to Changes. At home in the States, change doesn't happen too often. Or if there IS a change, it is usually not something very drastic or dramatic. Here, it is exactly that... you get those things on a regular basis. You drive by a busy popular store one day, and the next is gone. What? There is no "safety blanket. Having said that, as far as work, pretty much no employee rights or no justice in the workplace. I know this all sounds negative and surprising, but that is how it is. Every person will tell you that, there is dramatic racism, sexism, stereotyping, you name it. Although it is something that people tend to "get used to," sometimes it's just hard to accept something that is sooo completely unfair and unjust.

But anyway, back to Changes.

Sooo... after I got back from my North American and South American extravaganza over the xmas holidays, I went back to work expecting "business as usual," only to find out BOTH our medical and clinical director were leaving. What?! The medical director wasn't too much of a surprise because he is 1/2 in the country and 1/2 out, BUT our clinical director was more surprising because that seemed somewhat sudden. There were a ton of rumors and gossip and I won't bore you with details, but it was just another example of politics and things being unjust here. So shortly came the news that one of the doctors (American) would be both the new clinical and medical director. Hmm.... he is one of the busiest clinical and surgical doctors we have and how in the world would he handle all of that? Who knows? He's a bit... umm.. how should we say, unstable (they call him an EKG because of all the ups and downs he has), but is motivating and has a lot of ideas and much more organized than the others. So it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In the meantime there comes in this new .... I don't even know what to call him, CEO of the Academic Medical Center we are a part but now would be kinda our new head boss? It was super confusing of who exactly was "the boss" as both of these guys were claiming they were.

So little by little, all of us employees are starting to feel .... insecure about our job security. So, as we do best in Dubai, keep quiet and do your work.

Things are quiet for a bit... the ATP Dubai Tennis rolls around and we are all busy with that. The one night of the Players Party, my colleague and I ran into the main American doctor (our supposed new "big boss") and he went on and on to talk about "there are going to be changes, but good ones" and all of this foreshadowing of "great things to come." Even though everyone at the clinic had been feeling down about everything that has happening, it was a nice positive speech. I went home that night feeling a bit more at ease and the blood pressure down a bit.

THAT NEXT MORNING, nearly 11 hours later, he sends a mass email of a resignation. Sigh. Note to self - in Dubai don't trust or believe in anyone. EVERYONE was totally shocked. There were rumors last year he was going to leave, but that quieted down because he was investing in soo much at our clinic. He is one of our busiest doctors and I wouldn't say runs the clinic, but kind of. The other doctors aren't nearly as busy as he is. Although he is a wee bit moody and... unstable, he definitely has the most potential in the clinic AND is one of our biggest referrals (from a physical therapy standpoint).

Sigh.

Now what?

So once again, rumors, gossip... everyone now all of a sudden wants to look for another job.

The "other big boss" has a meeting with all of us saying he wanted to close us down, but sees the potential and is going to give us a chance for the next 4 years. He seems positive and is very productivity driven to bring business up.

Then a week later we get this email that he is now going to be the Marketing and Business Director for the whole Academic Medical Center, which our clinic is one of many clinics. And that means we will now have to recruit yet another new clinical or medical director for our particular facility because we technically now have no one really running it.

Whoa.

Change.

Now with me.... what to do? Since I started I've had some.... let's say "conflicts" with my own manager, and with all of these recent changes, what to do? It's been stressful and I have changed my mind daily - to stay? To go? I put my C.V. out and some of the other clinics are not hiring (fully staffed) or clinics I wouldn't really professionally grow. My 2 years is in October and I feel I should wait till then, but who knows what will happen?

After zen time in Bhutan, I cleared my head and am MUCH more relaxed than I was before. I'm keeping my eyes and ears open, but focusing on my work, my  patients, and... taking one day at a time. Everything happens for a reason and I call all of this "character building" and makes me appreciate the steadiness and security of work life in America. Some say I should just go back home where I have more peace of mind and there is more of a work life balance (mind you, here I am working 50+ hours a week), but on the other hand, it feels too soon. It took me almost a year to get used to life here and after just finally decorating my apartment (bought some stuff in Bhutan), to pack it all and leave? You know, gotta think of the important things in life, ha ha. Plus, I guess my biggest concern is I've saved very LITTLE money... it's REALLY hard to save here. Life is VERY expensive and... of course my travel is too. I have some travel goals for the fall, expensive travel goals, and I'm hesitating to do anything too drastic to lose some financial security to do these travels. I have to say those are important things to me, although many would disagree.

Ahh... what to do?

Anyway, change. It's good for the soul, but bad for the blood pressure! :-)

We'll see what happens..... Life as an Expat isn't the easiest thing to do but I am still glad I made this decision to come out here to Dubai. I lived a VERY VERY comfortable life in Chicago and now all these situations are situations I may not have had in the States, BUT I am learning about myself as I power through them.

How to get through it all? Keep a positive attitude and still maintain a healthy lifestyle. I've slipped (uh oh) with my previous obsession of healthy eating and exercising and I can tell the difference in my mood and health (have gotten sick recently). Sooo, tomorrow starts a new detox (just to prep for a new age coming up for me!)!

Land of the Thunder Dragon - Bhutan

Connections.

It's always amazing to me how connections and circumstance can change one's life. How did I end up in Dubai? My parents were at a medical conference, randomly met a Serbian doctor that connected with my mom because they have some overlap in their profession, and whose husband is a sportsmedicine doctor. Boom. I'm in Dubai.

As per my previous blog, my dad randomly talks to his parking neighbor whose girlfriend lives in Dubai, boom. Next thing you know I am going to their wedding in India and might have future connections in Chicago as he is in the same field as I am.

A travel friend I met in the Arctic who happens to also be a physical therapist knew a friend that was passing through Dubai so she wanted to connect us. I met him, and he is probably as much as a world traveler as I am. Somehow the whole conversation revolved around his "best travel trip ever" to Bhutan. "Bhutan? Where's that?" I had heard of it, but why was it so special? Well, it a unique country that relatively recently opened it's doors to democracy and to the world (tourism 1st started in the mid-70's). They do "quality tourism" by charging EVERY tourist, whether a prince or a popper, a flat fee of $250USD/day, including accommodations (3 and 4 star), transport, entrance fees, and 3 meals a day. One CANNOT travel independently.... aka NO backpackers. Wow. It just got TV in 1999. Tucked in between powerhouses India and China, Bhutan is a peaceful country that is best known for it's Gross Happiness Project, it puts people's happiness first, ahead of Gross Domestic Product. So if there was a bill to be passed, no matter what it is, it must pass the Happiness Project, i.e. seeing if it will affect the population in a positive way, and if it passes, then it will proceed on to the next stages - i.e. economic gains, etc. It is frequently rated as of the "happiest" places in the world. As my friend was talking, my mouth was dropping and I said "I HAVE TO GO THERE!" Especially that it seems relatively enclosed now, but things don't last forever.

So along came my friends Kenny and Shweta's wedding, which happened to be in Delhi, which is one of only several destinations that the ONLY company that flies in/out of Bhutan is - DrukAir. And next thing you know, Boom. I'm in Bhutan.

Ahhh..... from the get-go, this is one of the unique places I've ever traveled. The flight was over the Himalayas and NOT like Nazi American travel, we were all allowed to crowd the aisles to take pictures of the Himalayas AND still stay there during "minor expected" turbulence. It was definitely safe, don't get my wrong, but the staff wanted us to enjoy the views:

THIS is the airport.... from leaving the plane, to going through immigration and getting our luggage, it took about 20 minutes total. Love it.

The cool thing about Bhutan is that because you HAVE to go through an agency to get there, it's all individually designed programs. I told the agency I wanted 1/2 cultural sightseeing and 1/2 activity, such as hiking. Bhutan has one of the best trekking in the world, but alas, I was not in shape for it and just hiking would do for me (although 1 hike ended up being more or less a trek).

Bhutan takes a lot of influence from Tibet.... but also having been to Nepal, for me, I saw a lot of similarities to Nepal. Bhutan is a mostly Buddhist country, and also a lot of influence from India. It was super interesting to learn all these myths and spiritual significance to their way of thinking. 

Our first few days was going through the markets, the fortresses (dzongs), temples, and just interacting with the people. The men where traditional outfits called "gho" (which yes, includes a skirt) and the woman "kira."

Textile weavers

Monks walking through the "busy" downtown area (sarcasm noted)

The kids are..... ahhh-dorable!

Chili is one of the main produces here and they LOOOVE their chili's. One of the traditional dishes is "chili cheese," which was a little hot for me.

Fortress in Thimphu

A monk by prayer wheels

Me by a dzong

Locals where this extra wrap when they go to governmental or honorable places

Prayer flags in the moutains

Ahh.... I'm in the middle of Bhutan enjoying a nice peaceful atmosphere and... there is the driver talking on the phone. Some things in the world are just all the same!

It's not a cow, it's not a donkey, it's a Takin - a combination of the two! The takin is Bhutan's national animal.

Archery - Bhutan's national sport. They even went to the Olympics for this! (and got 2nd to last in the final tally count of ALL the countries participating in the Olympics, ha ha).

For each successful target hit, they add a colorful flag to the belt. 

I love the natural Bhutanese smiles.

Bhutan is very Buddhist, who don't believe in killing or destroying anything. Hence, these old mud houses just stick around until they just fall apart on their own. Yes, it can take centuries and take up precious land space, but they are not bothered by that. 

We had this picnic lunch one day. The green thing on the left by the rice is "chili cheese," a favorite dish among the Bhutanese.

The Big Buddha, largest Buddha statue in Bhutan - in Thimphu

View of Thimphu

One of the many stupa's

Anytime you go to a stupa or monastery, you walk around it in a clockwise direction and in odd numbers, 1, 3, 7 times around, etc. 

Praying at the stupa

Praying at the stupa

Yet another stupa

Spinning the prayer wheels for good luck ... you have to spine each wheel in a clockwise direction for it to be significant. 

Apples are one of the few exports of Bhutan

108 little stupa's

Yaks!

Beautiful countryside in Punaka

Yes, your eyes are not fooling you. Penis's are drawn outside the homes as a sign of protection against evil as well as to bring fertility to the home. It is quite common (and amusing for us Westerners!)

A monk school

A monk school

I am having a zen moment

Outside a beautiful 17th century fortress (dzong)

The same 17th century fortress as above

Inside a 16th century dzong

Heheh.... amusing!!

Bhutan's largest suspension bridge in Punaka

My guide on the suspension bridge 

Schoolkids

Enjoying Druk 11,000. Beer that has 8.5% alcohol!

Sunset over the Himalayas

The main hospital in Thimphu

The healthcare in Bhutan is all FREE. 65USD of the 250USD tourists pay goes to healthcare and schools (the rest, who knows?)

Rehab outpatient department

Rehab outpatient department

The town of Paro.... yes, that is about as busy as it gets!

Whether a new or old building, Bhutan tries to maintain it's charm by most always keeping up with this same architecture. No building is also to be built over 6 stories. 

"Cultural show" at the hotel in Paro

The festivals in Bhutan are known to be AWESOME! There wasn't one when I was there, but here is an example of a costume as the pic below.

Below are pictures of Tiger's Nest - Bhutan's most famous site. It's a monastery for the monks that was built on a sheer cliff that faces the Paro valley. Legend has it that a Tibetan Buddhist saint flew across the Himalayas on the back of a tiger and landed here, bringing Buddhism to Bhutan. It is truly breathtaking! 

Means of transport to bring goods to the monks at Tiger's Nest

My last day was supposed to be a hiking day, but ended up being a trekking day because it was snowy on the mountains, shrubbery had outgrown the trail, and hence we trudged through unmarked paths and snow for 4 hours before getting to a nunnery and then our car. It was exhausting!!! (but it actually snowed, which was cool AND the Himalayan scenery was GORGEOUS! Love the fresh crisp air too).

Best.View.Ever.

What started out as a path...

And ended up being our path (note to self - bring trekking waterproof shoes and not regular 'ol gym shoes next time!)

The unblossomed famous flower, rhododendron

Pelts of snow!

The nunnery

Slipping and sliding away. Doesn't look super dangerous, but it was!

And before I knew it, I was back at the small quaint airport....

Flying back over the Himalayas...

The above is just a glimpse of life in Bhutan. It truly is a magical place. The people are VERY easy going and relaxed, "we don't hurry in Bhutan" when I asked the driver why we were going so slow. He had that reply and also, "you're on vacation? What's the hurry?" Hmm... am I really that impatient? There is minimal poverty there and people do seem relatively content. I'm sure it gets annoying when we foreigners ask about their supposed Happiness (as they have the infamous Gross National Happiness project) and they say they really really trust their government and KNOW and BELIEVE that their government really does want to do things to improve their lives. I didn't sense any sense of corruption or resentment through my various conversations. When I asked if they would leave, like seemingly everywhere else in the world, the local people WOULD leave to make more money, BUT would return, which I found interesting. The other thing I found interesting was that although 65% of the forests are protected, they have this hugs o litter problem. Eh? It seems ironic and was a bit disturbing to see people litter all over the place, especially at some of the protected forest areas. Why? Supposedly "the government" is going to do something about that, but then it brought me to think how reliant they are on the government and won't do anything until they tell them to do it. I said, "well, you can just NOT litter. You don't have to have the government to tell you to not do that" but they didn't seem to understand. 

What makes the country so special, besides the breathtaking scenery is that it does have that untouched feel. Thank gaaawwd the government regulates things so much, so there were NOT any McDonald's or Starbucks... or actually any chains of stores for that matter. That doesn't seem like it will happen anytime soon (phew). The Bhutanese are proud of their country, yet are a bit sheltered. They also like tourists and aren't greedy for money like other places. Even when shopping, they were relaxed and didn't chase me around or push things on me. That was super nice. They know tourists are pretty much paying for their hospitals and schools, so are generally friendly. I just loved the perfect combo of culture and activity... and also again, how laid back the people are. NOT like Arabs, they are timely, yet still have a good-natured slowness about them. 

Soo... there you have it. I visited "the Last Shangra-La," as a recent National Geographic article wrote. I'm curious to see how it will develop in the future, but so far am glad how it is regulating tourism and keeping the quality, NOT focusing on the quantity. 

So if you want an exotic and unique place to travel, I would definitely recommend the Land of the Thunder Dragon, Bhutan!!!