Where were you a year ago?

I can tell you exactly where I was - my flight had just landed at Dubai International airport, and I was in the middle of a million emotions.

You see, a year ago, to the hour, I stepped foot in my new home for the first time. It had been an emotional 20-hour journey - leaving home, my family, my friends, the man I was in love with - but I wiped my tears and got off the plane.

To say this has been an enlightening year would be an understatement. Moving to a new city always is, but this wasn't just a new city, it was a new bloody continent, 12 time zones from home.

Most of highlights have come in the form of travel. This year I made it to Singapore, Vancouver, Tunis, Houston, Copenhagen and London. Four continents, one year - not bad.

The work has been challenging and mostly fulfilling. It's been quite the change going from a small agency to a behemoth of a company. I went from working with six of my favorite people in Vancouver to a department of more than 200. I'm still blown away by all of the nationalities the company represents and how much exposure I have to the world outside of Dubai.

The lows have been mostly personal. From the end of my relationship, to the knowledge that life goes on without you, sometimes being away from home and alone really sucks.

Despite everything, I can honestly say that my regrets are few and far between. I'm ok (today), and that's a pretty good feeling.

It blows my mind that it's already been a year, and at the same time, it feels like I've been here forever. Funny how time can play tricks on you, isn't it?

So there you have it, an EXACT 365th-day post from the Middle East. 

Vacation Highlight: Running Away

Tunis!

One of the hardest things about moving to a new city is not having the fallback options. You know, those things you do when you've got nothing else to do.

During the long weekend in August I had nothing to do. My friends were all out of town, and I was stuck in a city without any plans. Thankfully I work for an airline and was able to hop a flight to a random destination. Random destination in question: Tunis, Tunisia.

I wasn't expecting much of this trip. I was only hoping to escape the Dubai heat and put my feet on a new continent. Tunis, however, pleasantly surprised me.

Essentially right across the Mediterranean from Italy, the city is heavily influenced by it neighbors. And although it's an Muslim country, it's much less strict that Dubai.

The food was fantastic, the beer was cheap and the city was beautiful. Picture Roman ruins overlooking crystal blue water. Amazing.

See, ruins and water. 

This was the perfect short break from Dubai. The weeks since returning from Vancouver were difficult, with me questioning every life choice I've made to this point. But this weekend excursion was exactly what I needed to refresh and remind myself that though my choices have cost me a lot, they have given me many opportunities, including visiting a country I had never considered.

While I likely won't be going back any time soon, it's nice to know that Tunis is there, should I need another short break to a beautiful city.

Singapore Vacation Highlight: Food

I landed in Singapore with no idea of what to do or sights to see – this was the least prepared I had been for a vacation in a very long time. 

To be honest, I’d never thought about Singapore as a place I needed to visit. The impetus for this trip was the fact that my friend is moving to Dubai at the end of the month, and well, a free place to stay in an expensive city like Singapore is always welcome.

Since I didn’t do any research, I was at the mercy of my friends for recommendations.

This little piggy went
in my belly

It just turns out that most of their recommendations were for restaurants. 

Did you know that Singapore is a foodie haven? I didn't. I thought I'd definitely get some good Asian food, but I had no idea how good this food was going to be. 

My first day I met a former co-worker, Amy, for dim sum. YUM! So far I haven't found the affordable, authentic dim sum in Dubai. Well, Singapore had it!

That night we went for some lovely European cuisine, where I of course ordered pork, because the kitchen wasn't Halal. 

For a midnight (well, 4am) snack we stopped at an all-night street food place and had some damn fine Indonesian food. (I fell in love with Indonesian food in Amsterdam, and there's one good place in Dubai, but it's hella far for me)

For lunch the next day we enjoyed a Singaporean specialty: chili crab! 

When my parents visited Dubai one of the hotels had a chili crab festival and it was so good, but the real deal was even better. 

Peking duck? A million times yes. 

After chili crab was suckling pig and Peking duck. Good god. The skin on both was so crisp and delicious. I'm a grown woman, not afraid to admit that I totally got the meat sweats after this dinner. 

I regret nothing. 

The last day was less intense - mussels and then some burgers - but all of it was top notch. 

I didn't see the zoo. I missed Sentosa. Museums? meh. 

I went to Singapore and I ate. And ate. And ate. 

And when I go back, which I will, I'll do the same. Happily. 

Singapore Vacation Highlight: Flying

I’m not going to lie, the past few months in Dubai have been hard. The job isn’t all I had hoped, the city is fine, but not amazing, and I’ve missed my friends and family a ridiculous amount. When I landed in Dubai, I knew the first six months would be the hardest—no flight benefits and no vacation time to use.

But thanks to a lieu day and a long weekend, I was able to utilize my flight discount on a firm ticket and dart off to Singapore!

Above the clouds ...

I hadn’t been on a plane since landing in January, and while that isn’t a long time, when you spend every day looking at the airport terminal and hearing planes land and take-off, it makes you want to fly away. I, along with millions of others, will never stop being amazed at our ability to fly. To be able to spend hours above the clouds, while firmly based in science, is all kinds of amazing.

Little old me in Business Class

So I booked myself in Business Class for the outbound trip. It has been years since I have flown Business Class and let me tell you, it won’t be years until I do it again. The screen was so big! When I stretched out my legs my feet didn’t touch the seat in front of me—if you’ve ever met me, you’ll know that I have fairly long legs and this (not touching the seat in front of me, not the long legs) is quite the accomplishment, and quite rare. 

Also, champagne when you get on board and a really nice wine selection made the extra cost for Business Class totally worth it.

So with a quick nine-hour flight, including a short layover in Colombo, Sri Lanka, I was in the city-state of Singapore.

YAY air travel!

Dubai First: Emirati Food

Exterior of Al Fanar (courtesy of Al Fanar Restaurant)

When I moved to Dubai, I thought shwarma was local food. I love shwarma and wanted it to be true.

Apparently it is not.

Maryam, my Emirati co-worker and first Dubai friend took me to Dubai's only - yes, ONLY - Emirati restaurant, Al Fanar and it was yummy!

Since she knows the drill, I let Maryam do the ordering.

We enjoyed hobool (fish roe), jesheed (shark), machboos samak (chicken and rice), and finally leqaimat (Arabic donutholes).

The meal was delicious. And the company was fantastic.

Look at me, learning stuff about the local culture.

Calling All Networks

It seems that my depressing post from a few weeks ago did what it was intended to do: help me let go of the feelings of loneliness and pick up my boots.

The problem is, where does a 30-something find new friends?

After chatting with a co-worker of mine, Internations was suggested as a good forum. Despite my incredible awkwardness and hatred of networking events, I thought, 'what the heck' and signed up.

First, about Internations. Simply, it's a networking group for expats. And since 80% of the population of Dubai are expats, this makes for a pretty deep pool of networkers.

They held an event last week at a tapas bar, and though I needed several glasses of wine to a) get over my exhaustion and b) pump up the liquid courage, the event went surprisingly well. I met some people I've been chatting with since the event, and have made my first non-work, non-Canadian female acquaintance.

YAY!

And said acquaintance informed me that there's a Meetup group for wine lovers - pretty sure I fit that bill!

I know there's going to be great days, ok days and downright shit days, and last week was fine, but it was definitely more social and that's something. So lesson learned, I'll start networking and see if that helps build my ... well, network.

That's why they call it that!

Dubai First: Brunch!

Since moving to Dubai I'd heard from many people about the legendary brunches. One of my guide books talks about the debauchery brunch can induce.

The entire time I thought, 'I've been to Vegas brunches before, there's no way a Dubai brunch could be better.'

I was wrong.

Yesterday, my friend invited me to join her and her friends to brunch at Al Qasr.

First, I was late because I got dropped off at the wrong part of the resort. So to get to the actual brunch, I got to jump on a boat! An Abra to be precise.

What a lovely way to arrive at brunch!

Now this brunch is so big it has it own map. (Seriously, check out the map, it's ridic.) This is the biggest brunch experience I've ever been to. The drinks didn't stop flowing - from champagne and wine to mojitos and whiskey - talk about opulent. Post brunch we went and enjoyed some drinks at the hotel's rooftop lounge with a great view of the Burj Al Arab.

Me after six hours of brunching. 

I'm thankful that I didn't eat before brunch and that I had the sense to wear a skirt with an elastic waistband.

A sample of what I enjoyed:
Foie gras three different ways
Prime rib
Yorkshire pudding (my weakness)
Beef Wellington
Salmon
Veal schnitzel
Cheese spatzel
A variety of Spanish tapas
Nachos
A variety of cheeses
Cured meats
Macarons
Baklava
Variety of fruits

The drinks were tasty, and my favourite was the sake with coconut water - who knew that would be such a tasty combo!?

I won't be eating like that again for many moons and will be getting my workout on to ensure the elastic waistband doesn't become a necessity.

Unless You've Done It

PREFACE: This is not a complaint post. It is nothing more than the truth. Deal with it. 

Sad puppy (via Easily Distracted)

This is the third time in my life that I've moved to a city I didn't really know anyone. (The fourth if you count when I moved to Florida, because though I had my extended family there, I didn't have a social network.)

This is the third time I've tried to make it in a city on my own. 

This is the third time I've been genuinely lonely. 

I go to work. I come home. I've taken to working out (I know, who am I!?) and thankfully there's a couple of people I know in the city who have been kind enough to invite me out. My co-workers have turned out to be really nice people, and fairly social, so that's a win, but most days, when I get home, I don't say another word to another human being. 

I know this is temporary, it always is, but it doesn't make the loneliness any easier. 

My mind wanders and I get homesick like nobody's business. And then I get updates from friends and family about what they're doing and how much fun they're having, and though I'm happy their lives are going well, I can't help but feel a tad jealous, and sorry for myself. 

A friend of mine recently commented on how it's like I'm dead, but I can see how everyone moves on afterwards. 

It's morbid, but almost exactly like that. (I assume)

You see whatever space you filled in people's lives become almost immediately occupied after you leave. Of course it is. I wouldn't want it any other way, but it doesn't make you feel any less ... insignificant. 

And if you've never moved, if you've never been away from everything and everyone you love, if you've never been alone you don't know what it's like. 

This too shall pass, and I know that. Soon enough I'll carve out a little life for myself and I will start making Dubai home, but for the next day or so, I'm sad and missing my old home. 

Like I said, this isn't a complaint post, it just is what it is. (It's also a slightly pathetic post)

Clean your closet, clean your soul

An episode of hoarders. (Photo credit: BuzzFarmers)

Yesterday I went through all of my (many) pairs of shoes to figure out which ones were coming with me to Dubai.

After an hour or so, I decided to sell or give away 41 pairs of shoes.

41!

Despite me being totally disgusted by myself, it felt great to get rid of so much stuff. It is interesting to know by the time I leave Vancouver, my life will be a leaner, trimmer version of the one I had here.

Today I'm going through my coats and clothes.

Having never shared a closet, I've never really had to cull my collection. I've allowed my wardrobe to grow and grow, with little thought of how big it has actually grown.

It's become apparent that I should have been on Hoarders a while ago. And I think my friends were irresponsible for not suggesting that a while ago.

11 days and counting.

It's just different

Zemanta suggested the photo, so I included it. (Photo credit: Amanda M Hatfield)

I've moved several times in my life. Some might even call me a bit of a gypsy, and that's fine by me. I like that one day I'll be able to tell stories of life in Slave Lake, Toronto, Edmonton, Tampa Bay, New York City, Vancouver and soon, Dubai.

If you ask me, it makes me colourful.

This move, however, feels bigger. Each emotion feels heightened, each moment feels more significant.

I don't know if it's because I'll be leaving behind a man I've been waiting a very long time for, or if it's the considerable distance and cultural differences that await me on January 14th.

Regardless, this move feels bigger.

As excited as I am, I get a pit in my stomach when I think about not seeing my friends, family and the boy I love for many months. I can't say two words about how much I'm going to miss everyone and everything without breaking into tears.

Now, this doesn't mean I'm questioning my decision - you don't say no to your dream - but it does mean that this move comes with more sadness than I originally expected. And I think we're all aware of how bad I am at emotions.

I'm becoming a bit of a mess.

14 days and counting.

Let the emotions begin

It's about two weeks to go before I leave Vancouver, and already the emotions have begun to take over.

Everything feels like a 'last'. Yesterday I landed at YVR and noted that this would be the last time I say, 'I'm home' when touching down. I went to my favourite sushi place today and wondered if this would be my last visit.

I feel like crying at almost every turn, and have been.

I was offered the job in September, and it's been many months of me wondering when my 'lasts' would be, but now it seems they have begun, and that really sucks.

Should you see a tall brown girl wandering the West End of Vancouver intermittently crying, avert your eyes - it's just me facing reality.

15 days and counting.

New Year, New Everything

For the past five years, I have had a tumultuous relationship with Vancouver. Despite its intrinsic beauty, I haven't always been happy here. Then the past year happened and, well, happiness was all this city gave me.

Huge doses of happiness.

I have fallen in love with a boy and the city and it is with so many emotions that I announce my departure from Vancouver.

Come the new year I will be leaving Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada AND North America.

In January I become a resident of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

My new role is an exciting one: working for Emirates Airlines in the company's public relations department.

I'm actually moving to a city and country I've never been to before. I'm still in disbelief.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember a post from almost five years ago outlining my bucket list. Living in Dubai has been on my bucket list for long before that post was written. Last year, while floundering about, I was on the verge of giving up public relations and applying to be a flight attendant with Emirates, so it blows my mind that my dream of working in Dubai and my longtime goal of cheap flights might come hand-in-hand with some great resume-building opportunities.

As excited as I am, it breaks my heart to leave the person who has made me feel more love than I knew was possible.

The timing couldn't have been more unexpected. I've applied for this job several times before and the night I got the email for the first interview, I told Sarin: "For the first time since moving here, I'd be  sad if something made me leave Vancouver."

Just five short hours later the universe responded by saying "bitch, you ain't in charge".

But when presented with something like this, you say yes. You just say yes.

There will be many more posts between now and the day I leave outlining every emotion I am going through. I honestly had no idea I could feel this many emotions at one time.

SO. MANY. EMOTIONS.