World's Largest

Right now it's Tuesday afternoon and I have been in Dubai one week and two days. I apologize for not updating the blog sooner, however I have been spending most of my time outdoors enjoying the cool weather while it lasts! The weather during this time of year is in the mid-to-high 70's during the day and falls in the 60's at night. Apparently in the summer, starting around May, the temperature can reach 120 degrees so you can see why I am enjoying the cool while it lasts! At least there is consistent cool breeze on the beach where I spend much of my time!

Now that I realize I have spent my first paragraph completely talking about the weather (I am indeed a farmer's daughter) I will move on to more exciting moments Charles and I have experienced together in Dubai. Last Thursday night marked the beginning of the weekend and thus Charles and I decided to do a little exploring out on the town. A contractor Charles works with and his wife, from Houston, joined us which was a treat to talk to for the night. We wound up at the Madinat Jumeirah which is host to little shopping stores, plenty of restaurants and a bar all lining a small creek. We chose Persian food for the night then found ourselves at Bar Zar to enjoy a final drink before calling it a night. It was a great evening out and I enjoyed seeing the night lights and having some good conversation.

Most of Friday was spent at The Dubai Mall which is the world's largest mall by square footage and boy is it! I thought I would want to spend 5-6 hours walking around and shopping but after about hour 2 1/2, I was ready for our movie. Inside the mall is a beautiful water fountain, a very large aquarium, an Olympic sized ice skating rink, the largest food court I have ever glimpsed at, a kid's play zone wing (don't get lost in that screaming section), a 22-screen movie theater, and hundreds and hundreds of stores to please every type of shopper. One of my favorite stores was "Candylicious" which of course, is the world's largest candy store! It had every flavor of Jelly Belly, every color of M&M's, cupcakes, popcorn, ice cream, candy bars, hard candy, chewy candy, sour candy, fudge, suckers, etc. It must have been embarrassing to my husband as I have already told you that I love cupcakes while candy and chocolate is of course right up there under my favorites! And who wouldn't love this store? With our candy in hand, we proceeded to the cinema where we picked out our seats on a screen when we purchased our tickets for the movie. Ticket prices were comparable to the states however popcorn, candy, sodas, etc. were about half the price which was a nice surprise! After the movie, Charles took me outside to get a great view of the newly famous"Burj Khalifa" which just opened as the world's largest tower. It looks like something out of a movie as it's architecture is absolutely stunning. This was the closest I had been to see the tower as I snapped away multiple pictures like your typical tourist. I would have never imagined that something as simple as a "building" could take my breathe away. If I wasn't already engulfed in complete amazement, we witnessed two different fountain shows which is set on the 30-acre Burj Dubai Lake. It's the world's largest dancing fountain (of course) and has water jets that shoot as high 500 ft in the air, equivalent to that of a 50-story building. The fountains spring up every twenty minutes daily and has over 6,600 lights and 25 color projectors. The show is set to music and creates an exciting sound of booming thunder each time the water rushes high overhead. Saturday was spent with Charles working in the morning, a run on the beach after lunch, then a trip to the Dubai Outlet Mall in hopes of picking up some great bargains. While the drive out to the mall was interesting, the mall itself was a dud and we walked away not spending a penny. Our tummies were craving some comfort food as we headed to TGIFriday's for dinner that evening.

Charles has been very busy working quite hard during the day and is usually at the office 12-13 hours a day. I have become quite acquainted to the local area shopping at the grocery store, picking up more cupcakes, then going for a run at the beach and working out at the apartment gym to work off those cupcakes! When I'm not eating or trying to burn it off, currently much of my time is spent at the beach soaking up the sun. Everywhere we go in Dubai we hear what seems to be every language imaginable but this is especially evident at the public beach. You can see all sorts of different cultures evident just by the way people act and the way they dress at the beach. Everything from the local women who dress head to toe in black with the elders covering their faces, the local men dressed in white, many Indian men who are most often dressed in street clothes, European families where the women will often wear a thong as I call it, the men in the tiniest speedo's, and let their kids run around completely naked while in the long process of packing up and changing, and the Americans who like to keep their distance a bit more and talk softly. However it's no wonder why everyone flocks to the beach as the sand is soft and cool to the touch and the water is clear and a beautiful blue-green shade.

Plans for the near future include going out to a nightclub on Friday night for a little dancing, attending an information meeting to volunteer at the local canine adoption place, and in February meeting up with the American Women's Association here in Dubai for a brunch. Charles and I miss everyone so very much and we love hearing from everybody! Please send us pictures and keep in touch with your lives back in the states. Thank-you again for all of your love and support and God bless!