Aside from that, classes are going well. The continue to be easy, but I'm learning a lot about Arab history and culture due to the courses I am taking. I still don't like my schedule because the class times are spread out and inconvenient, but the classes themselves are pretty good.
Yesterday, Bader, Jeremy, Kendal, and I went to the Mall of the Emirates to go shopping. I ended up buying a new backpack, a sleeping bad, and a lot of food since I have been cooking every meal recently due to the fact that restaurants are not usually open during the day during Ramadan. At the mall, I got KFC for dinner which is actually more disgusting and greasy than it is in the States, which I didn't think was possible. We went back to the giant toy store, and I got to play on a little ride-on cart and on their trampoline, all of which was very fun. It was nice to get off campus and do something different since it can get boring being on campus all the time.
Today (Wed) was a particularly interesting day. Around 3:00 PM my time an 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Iran. The vibrations crossed the Persian Gulf, and we were able to feel them here. Some buildings in Dubai were evacuated, but I don't think anyone was hurt here. I was in class at the time and was able to feel the tremors. This was the first time I had experienced that, so it was interesting.
Also, my water has been turned off since noon. It is now 2 AM, and I am staying up desperatly waiting for the water to come back on, which should be "any minute now." I don't know why the water isn't working, but I do know that after working out and trapsing around the desert, I need a shower before bed. I also need to wash dishes and do some laundry, all of which require water. My room does not smell good thanks to the high humidity, high temperatures, and dirty dishes and clothes that need to be cleaned, so I now have my windows open and the A/C blasting which goes horribly against my morals of energy conservation. But its either that or suffocate.
Tonight, for lack of better things to do, Bader, Jeremy, Dana, Kay, and I drove out into the desert and went for a walk a night. We didn't have time to drive far away enough to get away from the light pollution, but it was nice to be out in the desert. A bunch of other people were out there "dune-bashing" in their 4WD vehicles, but they stayed far enough away from us. We lite a fire and sat out in the sand watching the moon and five or so stars we could actually see. We were surrounded by lights on all sides, so it wasn't really dark. There were lots of huge beetles and ants in the sand, which made for some interesting moments, but overall it was a lot of fun.
Tomorrow is the last day of class for the week. This weekend, we are either going to Fujairah or Abu Dhabi for some sight seeing fun. We have been here almost a month now and still have yet to see a lot of the country. At the end of this month, we have a ten day vacation during which we are going to Oman and maybe Fujairah as well. It should be an exciting time. Well, hopefully my water will return soon, so I can take a shower and go to bed.
-Lindsay
Me on a Cart in the Toy Store:
Our Fire:
Walking Back:
No comments:
Post a Comment