Egypt for the long weekend

So, I apologize for the delay, but it has been a busy week since returning from Egypt. Here is a little overview of our amazing trip there.

We were able to go there because the UAE was celebrating it's National holiday. Happy 41st anniversary of being a country UAE, you sure do know how to celebrate. I don't have many pictures of the celebrations, but the patriotism here for this UAE is pretty unreal. People go all out and decorate their cars, and hang thousands of Christmas lights all over their houses. Companies and buildings hang giant giant giant UAE flags and the Sheik's faces are on every billboard! It was quite the spectacle even before we left, and it apparently got even crazier as we were away.

So we headed off to Egypt and got there in wee hours and headed to the hotel to pass out and get some rest for our big day ahead. I know I have said that the world's worst drivers are in Jordan, but I would like to take that statement back and claim that the world's worst drivers are in Egypt. I honestly think that they use their horns on their cars so much that the car horn will probably have to be replaced 5 to 6 times within the lifetime of their cars. SOOOO, I'm telling you this because this incessant honking never stops and was a rude wake up call well before the alarm went off. HONK! But, then again, I was pretty excited to go going to the Pyramids that day, so getting awake wasn't really an issue.

We hired a local man to take us to his friends guide service and also just to show us around Cairo later after the Pyramids. He had an amazing old Land Rover that we piled into and were off.

We got onto horseback and rode our winding way around the back of the Pyramids that morning. It was absolutely amazing and still surreal to think about. The most incredible part of this trip was the fact that there was almost no one else around, (because of the recent protesting that was happening in Egypt, it obviously was not the first place on many tourist agendas. While we were there, only peaceful protests were taking place, but after we left, some violence and rioting had occurred). I don't need to tell you how incredible the Pyramids were or are. Here are a few pictures though.

Approaching them from afar...

Nick, Katie, Me, Peter, Veronica, Kirsty

Climbing on them!

Nick

Some other tourists on camels looking toward Giza/Cairo

My horse was great until the very end where he got a little spirited. 

After a long day we cleaned up and did a little shopping and needed some food. We had our trusty driver/guide take us to "some place clean, with a view." Cairo and Giza are very dirty and have very terrible pollution. It was pretty gross, and sad to think about when they are the host city for something as amazing as the Pyramids. We ended up at this place with authentic and fresh seafood and a roof top view.

Our dinner time view at sunset

After a jam packed day, we boarded the overnight train to Luxor. This was a fun experience and it was cheap! We brought a bottle of wine and listened to music and got to relax and sleep and when we woke up we were in Luxor. Luxor is home to the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and other amazing sites. The Valley's are where the tombs are. These tombs were amazing and in incredible condition as they are so protected from the elements. We couldn't bring in our cameras, but we were able to see the tombs of Ramesses the Second, Ramesses the Ninth and Mentuherkhepshef (son of Ramesses the Second), which were all amazing. Click to learn more about the Valley of the Kings and see some images, since I don't have any.

We went to the Temple of Hatshepsut, which was a beautiful temple for the female Pharaoh. It was another "pinch me" moment on this trip, as I was just in awe of the architecture of this ancient civilization. Truly unreal. 

We trucked around and saw various other ruins and temples and all were spectacular and full of the beautiful hieroglyphics that you learn about in your world history classes. It is really cool to think about the fact that all of those symbols are documentation of what was happening at that time, and that it was so so long ago, and we are able to decipher what it says. Just really hard to even wrap your head around. Check out the pics below.

These amazing pillars were huge and there were 128 identical ones, down to the cm!

We ended the night in Luxor with a falucca ride on the Nile river, which is a sailboat. We didn't have too much wind, but it was so peaceful and the sunset was absolutely breathtaking. We all definitely needed the time to relax as we had had such a jam packed day going from place to place. After the falucca ride we found a rooftop restaurant with views of the Nile. 

Looking straight up at our falucca sail.

Another falucca on the Nile

Rooftop Dinner in Luxor. Veronica, Katie, Kirsty, Nick, Peter, Me.

Views of the Nile and foothills from our hotel balcony.

We hung out in Luxor and did a little shopping in the Souk the next morning and then headed to the airport where we grabbed a plane to Alexandria, where we were flying out of later that evening back to Dubai. On our way to the airport in Luxor we were in our tourist van with our guide and driver. We hit a major traffic jam which was happening because the locals were protesting in light of everything that has been happening in Egypt. The cars and trucks were all in line for fuel and so we decided to go around the fueling station on a back dirt road so that we could continue on to the airport. As we were coming around the fueling station we hit a mob of protestors who did not want to let us through. Our driver and guide got out and started arguing with them and becoming very animated and almost got into a major fight with pushing and yelling. It probably was because the protestors didn't believe that the driver was actually carrying tourists and was just trying to jump the fuel line and get fuel. I guess we will never know, but as they were finally letting us through, it was very nerve racking to drive through an angry mob of people peering into your windows, and having no idea what they might do. 

Besides that little scrum, the Egyptians were overly welcoming towards tourists, as much of their industry is based upon allowing people to come to these ancient places and marvel and spend money on gifts and what not. 

We made it up to Alexandria and had a few hours to kill before catching our return flight. We went to visit the Library there which is historically probably one of the oldest library sites in the world. Not that the building is old, but the place where the building is and the gravity of the history behind the Library of Alexandria is amazing. The Library was closed, so we could only see the outside. The architects did a really amazing job and the outside of the building has inscribed letters of symbols from every language ever known. It was pretty crazy to look at. I was really bummed we couldn't go inside. 

Over all, Egypt was wonderful, and I still have not had the reality sink in that I just spent a long weekend there. We saw so much and had a trip of a lifetime. 

                           

Musandam, Oman

Dhow boat cruise

With this weekend being a longer weekend (3 days) due to Islamic New Year, a few of us decided to go to Oman for a little day trip. Musandam is a Sultanate of Oman known for its amazing mountainous coastlines and fjords.

Matt, Adam and Christine

We got going early Thursday morning and had about a 3 hour drive to get to the place where we were meeting the Dhow boat. The Dhow was a big boat with a second level sun deck, and lots of cushions to relax on. We went into the most famous fjord and saw just beautiful scenery.

Me on the sun deck as we were entering the fjord

We got to stop a few times and jump off and snorkel. The water was super salty (not as much as the Dead Sea) so swimming and floating were very effortless. We also saw a bunch of dolphins going along side the boat. It was so fun to see them in their habitat.

Jumping off the boat! It was high!

Peter and I

Over all it was an amazing day spent relaxing with my wonderful friends Christine, Ambre, Peter, Matt and Adam.

Ambre floating effortlessly

Christine and I

365 Km to the Iraq Border

I am back from my first little adventure away fro Dubai! We went to Jordan for a long weekend, and it is by far the coolest trip I have been on. I hope there are many more amazing trips in store. The best part about this trip was that it was relatively inexpensive, because I am so close. Dubai is in such an awesome location, that a 3 hour plane ride can get you to some crazy amazing venues, and everywhere flys into Dubai, so getting a good flight time for cheap isn't an issue! Yay for adventure time!

We flew into Amman, Jordan's capital city, on Thursday evening and rented a car and piled in. The best move on our part was bringing along a GPS, which was borrowed to us, and we are forever in our friends debt because of this small gesture. Four white chics renting a car driving through the Middle East in the middle of the night. Enough said. We piled in the car and got on the road, which is difficult, because unlike Dubai, they don't bother to put the English translations on their signs. FAIL. But on major signs, they do, so our first inclination that we were not headed south to Petra was the sign reading "Iraq Border, 365 Km." Needless to say, that is still far off, but a U-turn soon followed. And after interpreting the arabic signs as "dot dot squiggle, dot, squiggle.." we were on the right highway to Petra and made it to the Guest House safe and sound. 

Petra was amazing. It's hard not to have the Indiana Jones theme song going in your head multiple times. I will say there was not a lot of creative filmmaking in that film when he is coming through the Siq to see the Treasury, because that is actually how it is. You turn the corner and get a little glimpse and it is absolutely stunning as you walk into the open area with this massive stone edifice in front of you. It is unbelievably well preserved because it is so protected from the elements. The whole settlement of Petra is crazy to think about. The Bedouin/Nabataean people carved these caves and structures out of the sandstone and lived there for hundreds of years. I will have more pictures coming, but here are a few. Click on the link above to learn more about Petra.

Me walking in the Siq (passage to Petra)- on left is carved out water way that terra cotta pipes
brought water into the settlement- it goes the entire way! Unreal!

Coming through the Siq with first glimpse at the Treasury- Al Khazneh

Al Khazneh (Treasury). Inside is just an empty space. No pathway to the Holy Grail.

Caroline in front of Monastery (Al Dier). This carved edifice was at the top of the very long and hard climb. Many hundred (I think close to 1000) natural carved and worn steps up a mountain later and this is your reward! That and a diet coke and snicker bar.

So that day was amazing, and there are plenty of other pictures, but I have not had too much time to sort through them all. We loaded up the car after buying a few trinkets and plugged in our hotel information for the Dead Sea.

Again, thank God (and Peter- who borrowed it to us) for the GPS. We drove on some interesting roads. And I might add that the world's worst drivers live in Jordan. I'm not sure if they know that the lines on the road are meant to stay inbetween. The GPS kept us on the right path and what we thought was an hour drive turned into a three hour drive and in the dark and over some very treacherous terrain. We were navigating through the desert, saw some wild looking camels, a few Bedouin camps, mountain switchbacks, random small towns full of only men (saw like four women on the road, but hoards and hoards of men) and finally when the Dead Sea came into view we were able to breath a sigh of relief. By far, the scariest drive of my life, and one I will never forget. The highways are not highways, and are not lit up and have no guard rails going through the mountains and often feel like the size of alleyways, but we made it, and didn't hit any people or goats. 

Dead Sea

We checked in to the Movenpick Resort and Spa, went and had some much needed wine and sheesha, and were able to relax. The next few days at our resort were incredible. The Dead Sea is beyond crazy. It really blows my mind. I thought that like the Ocean, that I would have to do a little work to float, but you don't. It is so salty and you float like a fishing bobber. I could hold my body straight up and down in the water and not move a muscle and bob around. It just was the weirdest feeling ever. We rubbed our selves down with the mud/clay mixture and let it heal our skin. I've never felt my skin so smooth after washing off the mud in the Dead Sea and then rinsing off the salt water. Incredible healing powers. 

Contemplating the sunset in the infinity pool.

The salty rocks lining the sea. The crystals are way big! 

Dinner time!

 

I also expected the Dead Sea to be bigger than it was. It is long, but narrow. We could see Israel's West Bank the entire time and road signs told us that "No shooting at Israel was allowed." We also got buzzed a few times by Army helicopters and at night we could see several satellites just hovering right over us. Kind of cool, kind of lame when you're trying to be on vacation.

Overall it was an incredible trip. We had a great time and relaxed in the spa and enjoyed not thinking about school too much. I can't wait for my next trip!

Not a bad way to turn 26

Hey-o people! So, my life has been fairly consumed by work and I honestly haven't had all that much time to think about anything else. So don't worry. I know I have been neglecting this 'blog' or 'kind of pathetic rambling that you might enjoy' or whatever you would like to call it. Here is an update:

I turned 26. Boom! Not all that excited about it, but alas, we cannot get younger. I did have a pretty fantastic birthday though! I was able to pick up my car from the Honda dealership, and the guys there all knew it was my birthday and had the car wrapped in a bow and had a cupcake for me. I was shocked. But then I learned that they wrap every car in a bow, and that earlier in the day someone in the dealership had a birthday, but that they saved a cupcake for me- aka it was left over! But I digress, it was still a wonderful gesture! Not to mention I am leasing the car for a song. Feeling good about that whole business.

For my birthday we went to my first Dubai Brunch. Brunch here is not your typical 'Mother's Day/Easter' feast. It actually is more gluttonous than that and should honestly just be called "Drunch" because it generally a feast of epic proportions fueled by a lot of alcohol. The general rules of etiquette surrounding brunch is you have to be dressed to impress, and you have to have two drinks and some sort of food plate in front of you always. I don't think I am going to eat the rest of the week. Everything was beyond delicious. There was a Haufbrauhaus attached to our restaurant, and with Oktoberfest going on, the home brew was delicious and the German polka band was rowdy. They did call me up and sang happy birthday to me in front of the pub, which was rather entertaining. Brunch is a must do if you visit Dubai.



The other really amazing thing we did this past weekend was take a trip to Abu Dhabi to see the Grand Mosque. It is UNREAL! The link shows more amazing pictures than what I have below. This was really fun because the Mosque is super beautiful (the place is completely made of all different kinds of marble), and you have to be covered. We knew this before going, so we didn't bring any of our own things because they provide Abayas (black) for the women and Dish-dashes for the men (white) which is the Emirati dress. So we got to dress up. The Mosque was huge and immaculately clean (no shoes allowed ever). Just overall a cool little couple hour round trip from Dubai.

 The security guard on the right was coming to yell at me here for taking a picture without being covered. We ran away so he couldn't take my camera away.

Myself, Matt and Alyssa in our garb at the Grand Mosque

Entry way- everything you see is cut marble... even the flower designs on the walls. You can see the guy behind me isn't covered. There are certain areas that we could go in and that he couldn't because of the dress code. 

We decided to go to Madinat for dinner. It is on the Gulf right by the Burj Al Arab. Unreal that I live in this place. The only way to do fine dining like this is with coupons (usually 2 for 1) from a website. We pulled up in our little car behind a row of Lamborghini's, Bentley's, and Ferrari's. Sweet. 

So just had to snap a pic of this white Bentley. The license plate is way cooler than the car..
That low of a number is definitely a member of the Royal family, and it is totally illegal to photograph them. Hehe! The good thing was that I was not driving while taking this.

 

Sand Storm! and Golf

I experienced my first sandstorm here in Dubai on Thursday evening. To be honest, I didn't even know that it was really happening, I just thought it was rather windy out. I have heard about the sand storms here, and seen the one in Mission Impossible 4, but in actuality, they are not even remotely like that. I have been told maybe once every few years a major one happens where you better get your car inside so you don't have to get it repainted. Basically everything becomes very hazy and you can't see the big buildings. I feel like it is kind of similar to following a car down a dirt road. Just chalk it up to another first time experience!

This weekend we went out to my friend Deb's place on the Palm. It was nice and the views were amazing (I forgot my camera). It was amazing to think about these giant hotels and apartments and houses being built on this 'fake' foundation. It kind of freaks me out a little, so I try not to think about it too much.

Other than that, school is one month in and things are rolling. I met with a few head golf professionals in the area, including Chris Villander at Emirates Golf Club. Christ, myself and ASD's Recreational Director are trying to start a golf club amongst ASD and about 10 other area schools. Emirates Faldo course is a lit course and so this makes it possible to play into the evening hours. We are also trying to see what the chances of Meydan (The famous horse race track) and the course there could offer. It turns out the Meydan golf course has been out of commission for the last few years, but Troon Golf Course Organization just took it over and are planning on making it a fantastic and world renowned course. It also turns out the new director and CEO of Troon Middle East division, is a parent at ASD!

We booked our Eid trip and are going to Jordan. I know some of you may be weary about this, but it is totally safe to go there. We are going to go to Petra for one night and then up to the Dead Sea for a few nights to relax and enjoy the amazing views of the famous body of water. I cannot wait. I might have to buy an Indiana Jones style hat and go search for the Holy Grail myself! 

Events in the Area

I'm not too much of a CNN follower, nor am I really up on the news very much in general. That has changed drastically over the last week and a half. Due to events recently surrounding Libya and at our sister school in Tunis, as well as everything happening in Syria right now, the news has become a new hobby for me. The feeling towards American's in the region is overshadowed by these events. It is scary to think that people would take such extreme actions due to such feelings of hate. Everything in the UAE is still fine. It is almost like a bubble in the Middle East. The American Embassy and the Canadian Embassy (both Ambassadors are parents at ASD), have assured us that the level of security has increased, but that the best thing for us to do as a school and as a community is to continue to be respectful while in public towards our host country. 

The devastation caused at our sister school in Tunis (tunisia), is heartbreaking. The fact that people would destroy an educational facility is disturbing and causes me to lose a little faith in the human race. Our Superintendant read us that story at our all faculty assembly yesterday. Many of my colleagues have friends in the international community that teach at that school. We were stunned into silence. Please read the above articles. 

Onto some much lighter stories in the world of Megan! I have successfully made it through the third week of teaching without too many headaches. We had Back to School night where I made a short ten minute presentation to the parents for each of my five blocks of students. I felt great about the whole evening in general. The most entertaining part of the evening for me was seeing the outfits on the parents. Hellooooo MONEY! It was Housewives of Dubai at it's finest. It was fun to just try to do some mental math about how much an outfit cost. I tried not to drool over the diamonds that many of these women were wearing as well. Absolutely stunning. But, for the most part, it was so great to look out on the parents and see both mother and father there and have them be so enthused about the school year. The atmosphere at the school has done a 180 with the new administration. Teachers and Parents are all just so jazzed up about the school. One parent emailed our Super after her Middle School Back to School night (I have her daughter). She said that this was supposed to be their last year in Dubai, but that ASD and it's rejuvenated teaching staff and administration is making that a very hard decision. That is so cool to hear. 

I also decided that the Yaris was not going to cut it anymore, and was able to secure a dealership lease for a car. I now officially have a Honda Civic. It is a nice new car and fun little whip to drive. The only downside to this is that I can't drive it in the desert and I can't drive onto the beach. I will just have to find someone who does have that Jeep Wrangler that I so wanted and convince them to let me borrow it. When it cools down a little more, a desert camping trip is in the works! I'm so excited for that...

I also am trying to figure out where I am going for Eid break, which is at the end of October. It is only a couple of days long, similar to the MEA break in Minnesota. I was researching, along with a few of my friends, someplace we could go that will have the fall colors, and that is within a few hour plane jaunt from here. Armenian mountains and Istanbul (Turkey) are up there on the list. Jordan is also another idea that has been tossed around, and I have wanted to visit Petra for a while. We will see. The airline Fly Dubai is super cheap (similar to Ryan Air in Europe), and goes pretty much anywhere in a 8 hour radiai. 

That seems enough for now. 

One week in...

Well, one week into the school year and I am still in love with my profession. The kids are beyond awesome! The 6th graders are so fun because they believe anything and everything you tell them, because they don't know any better. The 7th graders are just hilarious because they are so sarcastic. And they laugh at my jokes. But, in all honesty, the school environment is amazing. I can't honestly believe I work in such an amazing school and in such a beautiful country.

I feel as if I have a lot to tell,  but don't really know where to start, and don't want to ramble on and on about how wonderful my job is. Because that would be rather boring for any non-teaching folk, really.

I must apologize for still not putting up any pictures of my awesome apartment. It is still fairly bare bones and I am not really planning on filling it up too much. I am trying to not spend a lot of money, and in Dubai that can be very challenging. I want to get some sort of couch so it isn't entirely embarrassing when having some people over. But I think my next purchase will have to be my car, and possibly a hammock for my balcony (excellent idea).

Thanks for all your support thus far. I do miss everyone and the comfort of being able to walk around Lake of the Isles and grab some excellent tacos at the Tin Fish. The food here is great and I am challenging myself to try to improve my cooking skills and not purchase a microwave. Yikes. :)

I will write a bunch more later and try to upload pictures! Ciao for now. 

Photos and Links

These two pictures are from right outside my apartment. Those are other apartments you see. Generally the whole Uptown area of Motor City looks this way. 

This is the Dubai AutoDrome. It is a Formula One race track. There are a few races here per year, and on certain days they open the track to the public for coming and driving your car, and other days it is open to the public for biking or walking. There is also a serious go-carting track. 

This is an authentic dressed Thai woman.
We were eating and she came out and
danced a traditional Thai dance.

This is Spinney's. My grocery store. It is within walking distance,
but when it is so hot, it isn't too fun to lug home groceries.
Once, we took a cart! Apparently people do it all the time.

 

The Burj Al Arab at night. 

Marina waterfront at night. Just a small snapshot. There are many more buildings.