Our first week

It's been a week since we landed in Dubai. Back home, a few people said they were surprised I would agree to move here without visiting Dubai beforehand. I've spent the last week with that in mind, exploring the city and trying to decide if we could live here. I can honestly say now, had I been able to travel with Brian when he interviewed last May, that I would have said "yes." We haven't done a lot of fun stuff yet, but I've seen enough of the everyday places - the malls, grocery stores, restaurants, and parks - that I know we can make this our home for a while.

We've been busy unpacking and shopping for household items and appliances. The girls have made a few friends in our complex and like to play outside in the courtyard. Teresa had to take a dip in the pool too, despite our warning that it isn't heated and much too cold! Carrie likes to go up and down, up and down the 71 stairs (yes, I've counted) from the first floor to the roof level, with me right behind her because I'm afraid she'll fall. I hope her idea of "fun" will get old soon.

There's a lovely park within walking distance that we've been calling the "girls' park" because men aren't allowed in on weekdays. I took the girls there on one of the two days that Brian was working. We saw so many expatriates and heard many different languages. Teresa and Anna played with a little girl that I assumed was around 6-7 years old because of how well she conversed with us. I was surprised to learn later that she had just turned 5, and then she further amazed me by acting as translator (French and English) for her mother and me. Here are some pics from that day. (Did you know that you can click on the image to view it bigger?)