"This is fine"

Adventures of a me this past time that I haven't been blogging:

Side note: Recently, all my life, when I write I like to misuse grammar but obviously and on purpose. 

So I've been at the villa by myself for almost 2 weeks while the family is in Paris but they get back tomorrow. Everyone kept saying how bored I would get and how lonely it would be. I wasn't either. I did feel lonely but more of a homesickness than a loneliness. I miss being able to spend time with my family and friends. I miss being able to be alone at /my house./ there is a distinct difference between my house and the house of my employer. It's very difficult for them to become the same thing and I don't want them to. I miss Austin so much. I've decided that Texas is a country and it is the best country and it is ruled by peculiarities and freedom and conservatives and its nonsense makes 100% sense because Texas. ( why yes, I have taken at least three years of logic, why do you ask?)

It may or may not be midnight. 

Oh queso, I went to Dubai and it was pretty fun. I went to a museum!!!!!!! I really like museums. And then I walked down to some souks. A souk is like a back alley of ghetto shops that sell random things like scarves and souvineers and fake Rolex and Louie Vuitton. It was scary because I was by myself and being an American female I got a lot of salesmen yelling for me to come look in their stores. It was overall fun and I bargained prices and got a couple gifts for people, but I was internally freaking out. 

Then I rode a water taxi thing called a something that I can't remember across the creek for respectfully 37 cents and walked around some more souqs. (yes both spellings are correct)

I went camping in the desert the next day although I didn't stay overnight. It was really fun, I went with my friends from crossroads. I'll add pictures of all my life at the end. 

I really haven't done that much. Personally, one of the best parts from the past few weeks has been reading in Exodus. I find that if you just read the bible then wherever you are ends up being where you ought to be. For example I just randomly am in Exodus and was reading about the Passover and what is this Friday? The Passover. Also whenever I talk to people it's pretty common to be able to relate things back to wherever I am. Especially when I'm reading about the Israelites and living in UAE. That's kind of a long train of thought to explain in the middle of the night so I'll let you imagine how the two could be related in my mind. Except my mom because I spoke with her about it a few whiles ago. 

Sometimes I just;

So yes, picture time!

Top left, boat in front of the museum

Left middle, looking at the doa(?) boats from one of them on the creek

Left bottom, an old bed in a bamboo hut like people used to use about a long time ago (I should try to write when I'm fully awake so I can think clearly)

Bottom middle, an old crib! It's so cute! And it's like a hammock crib thing! I want one for me. 

Bottom right, view of the creek/Dubai from the boat taxi doa thing

The big picture, wind tunnels in the hut to help bring airflow into it before ac was even capable of being imagined. 

I found out why the "Gold Souq" is called that. It's because every store sold gold. 

I bought these at a souk for my niece, Maia. 

Jumping on sand dunes

Some of my friends from crossroads at the desert. 

This is what I do when I'm alone and I miss people. And I have a bajillion accessible photos of us. 

Also this happens when I want to be in Austin again

So many collages

Okay, I'm done. 

If there is anything in particular anyone wants me to write about or take pictures of, let me know either in comment, via email, or through Facebook. My next blog will have pictures of Ski Dubai since I plan on going there in about a week. 

Blurred lines

   Yesterday, I was riding in a taxi and the song "blurred lines" came on. It reminded me of a meme and I laughed a little but then I kept thinking of what it reminded me of. It reminded me of people telling me how I could do great things but I had to work twice as hard as my male equivalent. It reminded me of someone telling me how men here think American woman want sex because that's what they see in American TV. I added 'and songs' as I sat in the taxi. It reminded me of hearing a two year old boy sing the song while I babysat him in the states. It reminded me of his mother whose husband has another family in another state. It reminded me that he recently left to choose the other family. It reminded me of hearing neighbors screaming in the middle of the night and praying to God that it was a scary movie. It reminded me of all the articles I've read about rape and all the struggles women have had because they are viewed as objects. Because they are for pleasure, to look at, to cook, to clean, to use, to ignore. I remembered how I've had people warn me so many times in my life, and especially here, that I need to be extra cautious of men because just the fact that I'm female is usually enough to blur a no into a yes. I remembered how I always knew, and how I'll always know, that those people are telling the truth. Because no matter what I do, how hard I work to earn respect, how confident I am, or how much I close myself off from humanity (or should I say huMANity) I will always be at risk. Before coming here, I looked up women's rights and the only thing I could find was that if a woman is raped and she goes to the police, then they will arrest her for premarital sex and her offender will be left alone. No ID tests, no investigations, nothing. 

   That was the most scared I've ever been in a taxi. I hope I never have to face the fears that every female has to live with and that many females and males have to endure. 

   On Saturday, I saw the movie divergent. It was amazing to see how feminism was portrayed so blatantly and beautifully. On another note, it was surreal to see the preview for son of God play before the movie started. Almost as surreal as the concert I went to Thursday night, it was Chris Tomlin. Passion 2014 Abu Dhabi with an hour long talk from Louie Giglio about how great our god is and how awesome his works throughout the universe are. Surreal. Surreal to sing with 5000 believers that we would be the light in this city shining for all to see. Surreal to hear Louie Giglio thank Sheiks and crown princes for allowing this concert to happen. 

   In the midst of fear, God's surreal presence is unavoidable. 

18-3-14

I didn't foresee how confusing reading and writing dates would be here. I didn't even know they did it differently, but I guess it makes sense. At least they drive on the right side of the road. 

Anywho, I've been here nearly three weeks! I'm not sure if it's been a long time or a short time, it feels like both. I like it here. Well enough. I wouldn't want to move here, but it's fine. I miss corn tortillas and their biproducts like chips and tostada shells. They don't have TexMex restaurants here which makes sense but also not at the same time. I think the thing I miss most is my small freedoms. Having my own car, scheduling my own time, things like that. Being able to say "I want to go buy some salsa" and then doing it. Maybe I just really miss chips and salsa. That's probably what it is. I seriously need some good TexMex pronto. Mom, Dad, take note. The first place we go when I get back, regardless of the time of day, is la tapatia or something equally delicious. While we're at it, just bring a jar of Clint's and a bag of unsalted chips. 

It's not that bad here, at least I can cook TexMex. And they have refried beans which I wasn't expecting!

I enjoy being here, but there are so many things happening this summer that I'm pretty ready to be done. I still have a lot of things to do while I'm here, but summer can't come quick enough. It's going to be the most eventful summer for my family in a long time and probably for a long time. I'm surprised by how much I miss my family. Every day I appreciate them more (not that I wasn't appreciating them before...) I think that after 18 years of changing friendships and neighbors and aquantces and whatnot, it's always family that stays with you and that gets you the best. They've seen you being an evil child, a confused middle schooler, a socially awkward cheerleader captain, and yourself. 

I did things and met people this past weekend and it was cool because this one guy from Egypt was really knowledgable about the Quran and stuff so now I know more. I could have made that less vague. Or more vague. I think the issue with me blogging is that I don't like talking about my life very much. If I've told someone a story, I don't want to retell it. If I'm tired, I don't want to words. If it's a long story, it always ends up vague and like 15 words long. "I went to the place and bowled it was alright. Our lane was glitchy. Bummer."

This picture has nothing to do with anything. I just feel like it sums up my life pretty well. It was taken back in Texas as a senior photo. I'm feeling unstructured about this blog, bear with me. 

The other side of the world

So here I am, in the Middle East, with a nine hour time difference. Life feels pretty normal. If anything, I have less stress. Less last minute schedule changes and unplanned meals. I'm a person who thrives with schedules, so this is nice. Everyday I wake up at 6 in the morning and go make breakfast and pack lunches then I go and make a checklist of everything I need to accomplish by the end of the day. When I'm finished, then I read books until it's time to start making dinner. It's very relaxing. 

I've gotten a few chances to see the culture so far. People here are crazy. Overall, it's really not that much different than the states. Everything is much more expensive, but everyone is loaded so they don't tend to mind. An interesting thing I've noticed is that everyone has nice cars. Nobody has a junker. Even the school busses are Mercedes. That's not a joke. 

It's weird talking to people and noticing that the way they phrase things is so opposite of how I would view it. They don't wish they could get something, they want to come back with their mom to buy it. They don't worry about whether their option at a resteraunt would be too costly or not. They take taxis all the time and don't think twice about the 60 AED they just spent. 

Life feels the same, but I can't help noticing differences. Every few hours some neighbor plays Arabic music that I'm pretty sure is related to prayer rituals. There are mosques all over, but no churches. The fields are of sand, not wild flowers. The signs are posted in both Arabic and English. At church, I can see the full meaning of a melting pot society and a united faith. I think that's my favorite part. 

I love being like a big sister to Kennedy and Siera. I braid their hair, play them songs, cook for them and listen to them talk about things that are on their minds. Siera draws me pictures and shows me all her art. She's crazy talented for a 7 year old. I'm so glad that I like the family and vice versa. They always compliment me which makes me feel sort of uncomfortable, but also appreciated. Sometimes, it's nice to hear people brag about you. 

I've met a couple girls my age. One girl Daisy, that I went bowling with is pretty cool. She's super sweet and we get along well. I also met some other girls who I went to an American Football game with but they mostly ignored me and most sentences they said either contained or provoked profanity. 

So far I like it here, but I'm excited to get back and see all my family and friends. I miss them. It's difficult not being able to talk often because the time difference is so huge. It's always late for one of us and early for the other. 

Pictures!

This beach is about a five minute walk from where I'm living. 

Dubai mall

Dubai mall

Tallest building in the world which I will not attempt to pretend I can spell

Because church meets at a zoo, that's why. 

Tourist photo with Texas Roadhouse and some Muslim ladies. 

A handful of the pictures Siera has made me. 

JFK

I'm on my way. Presently, I'm on the nice tile floor of the JFK airport as I charge my phone. My flight here was pretty good. Well. That may not be true. It was pretty rocky, but I enjoyed that. It made me feel like I was in a car going across a bumpy road, not in a plane going through turbulent air. 

On the plane, I set my tv screen to the map and watched as I progressed toward New York. It's weird being here. I spent a lot of time in stagnant lines. It felt like more time had elapsed because of the time difference telling me it was an hour later than my mental clock. I wonder what the ten hour difference will be like. While I was in one line, I was holding my phone and this security lady came up and was like "Hold out your hands" so I did, because why not? And she swiped some weird stick thing over my hands then left. 

There are so many different people in the airport. I hope UAE is like this. I've seen a lot of Jewish men walking around with hats and coats and comfortable looking black shoes. I can't really tell how many languages I've heard people speaking, I just know it's a lot. One of my favorite things was hearing some kids from Wales(?) talking. Accents are the coolest. It just made me want to start talking to them and work in the word y'all so they could be like "omg I met a Texan and she said y'all!" That's what I would do. 

Here is a short allegory from my flight to JFK

*pilot over intercom* "prepare yourselves for the smoothest landing of your life!"

We proceeded to land jerkily and there was a little bit of laughter. 

*pilot over intercom* "not so much..."

Everyone laughed then. 

Anyways. I had to get dinner here, so I walked almost as far as possible until I circled back and decided to just get Panda Express. I know, that bit was super interesting. That's why I added it to the blog. Oh. I remember why I mentioned this. The price of food and drink is higher here. Not just in the airport, but in NY in general. Prices in the Austin airport were less than great, but here they are just terrible. 5$ for a small side at panda? I got a medium schlotzkys sandwich for that price in the Austin airport! 

My mom asked for pictures. You're welcome. 

Austin airport

Tracking my flight and jamming to music. 

You know you're in New York when! this guy passes you...

I missed the first AirTrain!

Phew! Thankfully another came about two minutes later!

Enduring, if creepy, mannequin hanging from the ceiling in JFK airport 

And my final picture, me waiting in a line. 

Oh wait, this is real?

It's an entire week into February now and the realization that in a matter of weeks I'll be in another country is slowly settling. I'm getting excited and also extremely nervous.
1. I've never been to another country and I've barely been to other states,
2. I don't know anyone over there sans the family employing me,
3. I'm not prepared yet.
Speaking of prepared, I've been preparing. I got my international license, my passport, a suitcase, and a basic idea of what I'm going to bring. I'm emailing the family about visas and packages and Skype sessions and it's not all that much but it feels like a lot more because everywhere I go, people ask me about it. "When are you leaving?" "Where are you going?" "Why are you doing that?" "How did you find out about this?" "Is it even safe?" I get versions of that one a lot. More often it's akin to what a friend said to me yesterday "Ashley, you're going to DIE over there! Saudi Arabia is so dangerous!" Fun fact: I'm not going to Saudi Arabia. Fun fact: My parents and I have taken precautions and researched to where they feel comfortable sending their youngest daughter there. So, yes it is safe, and no I'm not going to die. Thanks for the vote of confidence though.
The thing I've been worrying about the most with leaving is trying to find times to spend quality time with my quality friends before I leave. In my endeavors, I've found that quality time is harder than it used to be. With some friends, it's as easy as being in the same room with each other, but with others, I'll see them pull out their phones constantly. I like having an iPhone and a computer and the internet; however, I don't like when people use it separately from the person sitting next to them. Looking things up that you're talking about or pulling up a video to show them is fine, but texting and using Facebook just makes your friendship feel like a facade.
On a separate note, I've been having more and more scheduling issues arise. It's February 8th and people have already started asking me to do twice a week babysitting for the entire summer. I realized also that I have to go to ACC before I leave to fill out my ECS form and get advised for summer classes. While we're talking about college, at least once a week someone asks me what I'll be doing for the fall semester. I don't have an answer yet. Will I move to Fort Worth? Will I continue education at ACC until I have all my core classes? Will I cry in a dark room and ignore the world for the entire semester? The former is feeling more likely every time someone asks me...

That's What's Up

Last semester was so crazy. This semester is already more insane after less than one month.
Last semester I was preparing myself to move to Brazil for 3-5 months with my sister. As the semester progressed, it became more apparent that funds weren't going to appear, and Brazil was not going to happen. By December, I had little to no hope of leaving the country.
Enter January.
 In the first few days of January, the sister I had been hoping to visit in Brazil emailed me. It was a forwarded email from a group she's a part of. The group is made up of local Austinites, most of whom speak Spanish, and are either looking for temporary work or temporary workers. The email was about a family who lives in the UAE and was looking for someone to come help them out around the house to free up their weeknights and weekends. I decided that, although it was beyond a long-shot, I would email the family. After multiple email exchanges, Facebook friendings, and skyping, I got the job!
 I'm still in disbelief.
So that's basically the whole background story. My family told me to start a blog about it, who knows maybe this is gonna make me famous. I'll write another post or two before I leave and try to write and post pictures while I'm there. Feel free to comment or email me about it. I can already answer that, yes it's safe and no I don't have to wear a burka.