Mom & Dad came over to the U.A.E. to visit me for several days and we had a BLAST with a capital B. We took 3 gigs worth of photos (actual gigs, not an exaggeration) so if you want to see them all you'll have to schedule a private session or something. The highlights of our trip included the Big Bus Tour, the Dubai Creek, crossing the border to Oman, Dad getting sneezed on by a camel, the Abu Dhabi lights at night, golfing at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, a desert safari, the Ice Bar, the Grand Mosque, and afternoon tea [View Full Entry]

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John, Katrina, Chohdi and I celebrated Thanksgiving in Dubai this year. We had all the fixins...including a delicious turkey professionally cooked by Katrina! We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos & gravy, corn, green bean casserole, and of course....cranberry sauce! Chohdi is from Tunisia so it was his first Thanksgiving meal, and the rest of us told him the story of the first Thanksgiving, although I was wishing I had an Encyclopedia Britannica with me at the time. I am very thankful for many things, but this Thanksgiving I was especially thankful for my fellow Americans living abroa [View Full Entry]

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On Friday we saw the pyramids and the Sphinx - we even got to climb down one of the shafts in the pyramid to an actual tomb where one of the queens was buried. We went on the best tour ever, we lucked out and got a tour guide that used to be an archaeologist that worked in the pyramids. His name was Ragab and had hair growing out of the top of his nose. He knew so much stuff it all started to sound the same and I felt guilty for not caring more about Ancient Egypt. He was one [View Full Entry]

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We went to the Irish Village in Dubai this past weekend for a scary good Halloween party. It was great to be in an Irish pub, drinking a Guinness, and listening to live music. I decided that since I didn't pack a Halloween costume in my suitcase, and my name is Erin, that I would simply be Irish for the day. As it turns out, it would have been way more fun to dress up. Some of the costumes were fantastic! [View Full Entry]

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This past weekend I went to Muscat, Oman with a friend of mine from work, Katrina. We had a really great time and some fun adventures. The weekend started a little bit rough because Katrina lost her phone, we almost missed our flight, our hotel was surrounded by barbed wire and the room our travel agent booked smelled like gouda! When you travel, though, you have to roll with the punches. We decided to instead focus on the fact that I am pretty sure that I ran into a Sheikh at the airport, we got a free meal on our 45 [View Full Entry]

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Last night I went to the grocery store and discovered something quite interesting…corn in a cup! In the store there was a kiosk that sold corn, cooked with butter and salt and put in a Styrofoam cup. People were lining up for this stuff like it was cotton candy! I had to see what the fuss was about, so I paid my 7 dirhams ($1.91) and it was, as promised, buttered and salted corn in a Styrofoam cup. It was pretty good, I’ll admit, but I don’t really understand the attention it was drawing. I had no idea people would stand [View Full Entry]

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Back in the U.A.E. after a few months at home...and the first thing I come across is this most excellent watering hole. It's in the alley behind our office and I can't believe I never noticed it. I saw men carrying jugs and filling them up here. [View Full Entry]

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Dates grow in the U.A.E. like wheat grows in Kansas...and I desperately want to like them. The bad news is that I don't really like them, not even a little bit. I continue to try dates everywhere I go...imagining that I am in fact trying them for the first time. Plain dates, nut-crusted dates, chocolate-covered dates...all varieties have simply not delivered what I was anticipating to be a new love for the fruit of a distant land. Darn. My colleagues assure me that the dates we have tried are in a word, exceptional. I promise to bring some back for you [View Full Entry]

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Well I haven't posted a blog entry in a few weeks because I have been working like a crazy person. The vacation is pretty much over and I have been put to work! I truly cannot express the shock and dismay I felt when reminded that I was shipped over here to actually put in some hours, not to lay on the beach, ride camels, and eat dates off of palm fronds. Truly, truly shocking information that was. Alas...the only waking hours I have now are at night - so these photos are all of the city that I once saw [View Full Entry]

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A two hour road trip to Oman was just what I needed to remind me that I am a world away from home. We crossed the border to Oman and found ourselves haggling for antiques in stores with no air conditioning, drinking cokes out of bottles that cost about 30 cents from the local coffee shop, and eating hummus and cherries for lunch on the top of the only mountain in the entire country. [View Full Entry]

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