I am too sleepy today. M and I were discussing about a thousand and one things last night, talking for more than three hours (!) in the dark.
After 45 days in Dubai, the cosmopolitan desert life has seeped into me slowly and constantly and I am finding myself complaining of every little thing that gets to my nerve, thus the three hour night discussion with my better half.
But today while riding the bus and looking at the city around me, I thought: Life is what you make it out here in Dubai, the added bonus is that you can do anything you want 365 days of the year because the sun is always shining. Now, you can even go skiing, sledging or snowball fighting even when the weather is 40C outside! Where else can you do that?!
Yep, the summer is going to be horrendous but, let’s face it, I’ve had to spend most time indoors in Nagano (Japan) over the winter, so it will be the same thing, just for a different reason. But, reading across the internet, Dubai has a lot to offer in the summer for kids and adults alike. There are lots of events to keep everyone entertained inside temperature/climate controlled places. So, no need to fear of being trapped in the four walls of the bedroom answering to toddler’s unending questions.
I have a good job (so far, so good!) that requires no overtime and I don’t need to report every exit I make. Time is flexible and no one complains just as long as I do my part. Sometimes when I walk to work and look at all the laborers who toil under the heat of the sun earning a minimum wage, big part of which they have to send to their families back home, I feel luckier. I should stop complaining about getting my shirt wet with sweat while walking to work. That problem would stop once we have a car. Does not mean really that I am so rich to buy one, it is a necessity here in Dubai, a need not a want.
Also, I should stop thinking about Japan and the life that we would have if we opted to stay. Things are different here than anywhere — not necessarily better or worse, just plain different! Have a mindset that life will be what we make it…no matter where we live!
Well it might be very true when they say that things are changing everywhere, that Dubai is not the same Dubai two hours ago, prices are going up, things getting worse, services getting worse, but that’s happening EVERYWHERE in the world!
A country alone cannot make you happy.
“A country itself cannot make you happy.” I like your last line! Having moved to NZ about the same time you moved to Dubai, I know what you mean. It’s not like ‘home’, but we also have to choose to make it our ‘new home’. Some days are good, some days are bad. But the important thing is to remember to enjoy the opportunity. So many of our friends back home wish they could do what we are doing. We get the chance to live in a completely different part of the world! That’s cool!
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Cheryl: I think your NZ adventure is very cool. I hope I could post “cool” stories from hot Dubai too.
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