Mehemmed appeared.
But on a bad note, my doggie Dubai is being very naughty at Auntie Carolyn's house and she may have to take her to board somewhere. :-( She won't stop barking and is biting Carolyn's ankles. My God.
So tonight Mehemmed checked into my hotel, the African hotel. He was born in '81 he said. Some vender called me his momma. I am speechless. How old does that make him, kids? 35!!!!!
Please let some people for this Teacher Ambassadors Leadership Conference be my age. And he won teacher of the year in Azerbaijan, where he's from (I had the wrong country before!)
Before he came, I took a $30/each way (US!!) to have dinner with the teacher I'll be staying with tomorrow. She talked about herself for an hour and a half and then left to go to the gym. Ah carumba! Luckily, she will not be going to the conferences, or I'd have to poke my eyes out.
Tomorrow Mehemmed and I will be meeting for breakfast at 7:30 then going to the Dubai mall (where all the skyscrapers are- including the tallest building in the world). The mall also houses the largest aquarium in the world. But mostly, I'm going to photograph the skyline, which looks a lot like Chicago's, believe it or not.
This town was built up only since the 90's. The construction around here is mind-blowing. They're hosting the Dubai 2020 Games or something and want to build the city up for this event. They have built canals, but there is no water in them. They are growing too fast for their britches. The town is divided into "Centers"- "Motor City," "Studio Center," "Sports Center," etc., which house clusters of condominiums/homes. Like Marina Cities everywhere. There is even an "Adventure Village" (or something like that-I guess the equivalent of our Great America) where you can spend the day seeing magic, shows, and the like.
There is incredible security here. The roads have few cops because there are cameras everywhere recording speed. A speeding ticket can cost $450 dirhams- $800 dirhams (US$150-US$266!)
There is a speed limit but they can drive 20 miles over it before they get a ticket. The temperature here is 21 degrees celsius, which equates to 85 f.
...but it occurred to me after my visit downtown for dinner that I am not staying in the real Dubai, the opulent Dubai, so I have to go out there and see it tomorrow morning. Then, I come home on the Subway, pack my stuff and high-tail it to the GEMS World Academy to visit/teach some of the 2000 pre-K through 12th graders that attend this private school.
Evidently, a lot of the private schools' clientele have jobs that pay for the kids' schooling. They pay for butlers, drivers, sometimes even one-on-one nannies- anything. One person, the teacher I'll be staying with knows says his company pays for around $3,000 dirhams worth of speeding tickets which he accrues driving between here and Abu Dhabi.
Well, again, please pray that Dubai the German Shepard puppy behaves. For the love of Mike.
But on a bad note, my doggie Dubai is being very naughty at Auntie Carolyn's house and she may have to take her to board somewhere. :-( She won't stop barking and is biting Carolyn's ankles. My God. So tonight Mehemmed checked into my hotel, the African hotel. He was born in '81 he said. Some vender called me his momma. I am speechless. How old does that make him, kids? 35!!!!!
Please let some people for this Teacher Ambassadors Leadership Conference be my age. And he won teacher of the year in Azerbaijan, where he's from (I had the wrong country before!)
Before he came, I took a $30/each way (US!!) to have dinner with the teacher I'll be staying with tomorrow. She talked about herself for an hour and a half and then left to go to the gym. Ah carumba! Luckily, she will not be going to the conferences, or I'd have to poke my eyes out.
Tomorrow Mehemmed and I will be meeting for breakfast at 7:30 then going to the Dubai mall (where all the skyscrapers are- including the tallest building in the world). The mall also houses the largest aquarium in the world. But mostly, I'm going to photograph the skyline, which looks a lot like Chicago's, believe it or not.
This town was built up only since the 90's. The construction around here is mind-blowing. They're hosting the Dubai 2020 Games or something and want to build the city up for this event. They have built canals, but there is no water in them. They are growing too fast for their britches. The town is divided into "Centers"- "Motor City," "Studio Center," "Sports Center," etc., which house clusters of condominiums/homes. Like Marina Cities everywhere. There is even an "Adventure Village" (or something like that-I guess the equivalent of our Great America) where you can spend the day seeing magic, shows, and the like.
There is incredible security here. The roads have few cops because there are cameras everywhere recording speed. A speeding ticket can cost $450 dirhams- $800 dirhams (US$150-US$266!)
There is a speed limit but they can drive 20 miles over it before they get a ticket. The temperature here is 21 degrees celsius, which equates to 85 f.
...but it occurred to me after my visit downtown for dinner that I am not staying in the real Dubai, the opulent Dubai, so I have to go out there and see it tomorrow morning. Then, I come home on the Subway, pack my stuff and high-tail it to the GEMS World Academy to visit/teach some of the 2000 pre-K through 12th graders that attend this private school.
Evidently, a lot of the private schools' clientele have jobs that pay for the kids' schooling. They pay for butlers, drivers, sometimes even one-on-one nannies- anything. One person, the teacher I'll be staying with knows says his company pays for around $3,000 dirhams worth of speeding tickets which he accrues driving between here and Abu Dhabi.
Well, again, please pray that Dubai the German Shepard puppy behaves. For the love of Mike.
Oh brother. No fair worrying about Dubai when in Dubai. Hope the lady you are staying with is bearable
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