My life as an Expat: Happy New Year from Dubai!! 2016!!!!

Here is an email I sent out to recap 2015 and welcome the New Year 2016!!! (minus all the Dubai fire and fireworks pics as they wouldn't fit on the email! he he). On a side note, for New Years was at my friends about a couple of miles away and it was my Chicago friend that called to ask if I was okay and I was thought, "why wouldn't I be okay?" Then he said, "a hotel is on fire downtown!" Then we stepped out to the balcony and saw all the action. Ha! The first pic below is from another friends right when it happened but thought it was a quality picture to share! All others are from where I was standing.

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow!!! What a way to end the year! 2015 ended with some shocking action as the Address Hotel next to Burj Kalifa burning on fire just a couple of hours before midnight, I fortunately was a couple of miles away and safe from all of it. The spectacle of fireworks of the Burj Kalifa still went on and we were all grateful to hear there were minimal injuries. All this excitement caps off 2015 as another year full of action!

Athletically the year has been quite successful, I started the year with my 2nd Dubai marathon as a 'warm-up" to my dream to compete in the Boston Marathon, which I did in April (I qualified last Dubai Marathon 2014)!! It was everything I'd imagined it to be and felt so fortunate to have all the support from friends and family, I am so thankful for that! In February also worked with the ATP Dubai Tennis for the 4th year and got to meet more tennis super stars including former star Boris Becker, quite a character that man!! Finally, in early December was an official pacer for my running Club's 1/2 marathon, which was quite an honor in itself and more challenging than I thought! Fortunately, my other fellow pacers and I all clocked in just before the time deadline and successfully brought in more than a dozen runners under there targeted goal. Yayyyy!!!

Travel wise, this year was quite amazing!! Shortly after the brief visit to the States, I went to South Korea and visited Seoul and Jeju, was super impressed with the organization and technology of the country and also the greenery! It was a nice precursor to traveling to Mongolia just after that. Mongolia is truly a mesmerizing place and loved it. I did a 9-day trek where for days on end where I only saw a few gers (yurts), horses and camels... endless beauty of nature and I highly recommend it to anyone that wants to go away to an untouched and beautiful place, and the history is super fascinating as well. My travels didn't stop there, in the fall traveled to Ethiopia where I experienced a perfect combination of culture, history, and nature, one of the most proud and captivating places I've been to with so much to offer (and just a 3 hour flight from Dubai!). Finally the year capped off with a trip to Switzerland (Bern and Zermatt) for a conference and of course finagled a couple of days of snow and skiing so I could re-group my Chicago roots (which I'm ashamed to say I have become oddly sensitive to cold!).

Professionally I have successfully completed my Dry Needling certification, which has been a huge asset to my practice and as always, I continue to grow and learn in this diverse environment.

I really appreciate being in touch with my friends and family close and afar and nowadays it is easier than ever to be in touch, so I hope to be with all of you!!!!

Wishing you all a HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR and best wishes in 2016!

Health and Happiness always!!