The mother of all BBQs...

I've blogged before about the social network in the UAE, and how expats feel less homesick here. During my stay, I came across a few occasions where people meet and get to know each other.

I'm actually overwhelmed by how quickly you can make friends and connections in Dubai, there's no way you won't receive an invitation on any social media medium to a meet up or some gathering. It is indeed very welcoming.

My last experience was an invitation to an event called: The Mother of All Barbecues! and MY GOD it was! I can't seem to remember the number of people, but it was crowded enough not to be able to move your arm without hitting someone by mistake! It was a great idea by a bunch of guys who are active on twitter, to welcome friends and colleagues into their home party, where people got to meet each other, probably for the first time! In my case I knew a few people, but I had the pleasure of meeting new ones and getting to know others better.

What's interesting about this is how social media can be powerful in expanding people's connections and circles, people can get to meet and know each other virtually, and then "meeting" could come later! So you wouldn't have to struggle to make room in your calendar, as long as you carry a smart phone or a tablet where ever you are; you're good to go!

But I need to mention that this power of social media that I'm talking about can be limited if people weren't open to such a thing! The power comes from the people you meet there, and I've had a chance to meet an amazing group that made me feel like home, and in no time I found myself surrounded by friends from all nationalities and interests, no matter where I'm from, or what I did, I became a member of the club. And thanks to such great people you can see the world becoming a bigger global family each day!

The pursuit of Burgers..

People who know me in person know how much of a junk food addict I am. I know it's un-healthy and later on it'll come back and kick me... but there's no better joy when I'm hungry than holding that sandwich of grilled beef covered with delicious mayonnaise sauces, dressed up with lettuce and pickles! EMMMM!

When you live in a place long enough you figure out your favorite burger place, but trying to do that in a new large city takes a lot of time, too much for a junk-food freak like me to handle, so I set up a quest to find the best burger place as soon as possible.

It is very important to note that this is not a comparison of restaurants, only the burgers they make, and I'm not talking about fancy new types, I'm talking about the traditional original amazing grilled beef with melted cheese, mayonnaise, ketchup and mustered, some tomatoes, lettuce and pickles!

The internet wasn't helpful either, I tried shortlisting places but it was too complicated to get a hand on a really simple list. So I came up with my own... and it goes like this:


1: Johhny Rockets:

I heard it was the most common burger place in Dubai, at first, this burger seemed irresistible, but after trying so hard to finish it, you begin to notice that there's too much of everything! too much pickles, mustered, mayonnaise, and cheese that you stop enjoying it much, and it becomes a normal big burger to you.

The price is similar to other places, not cheaper, but not more expensive, although all the places I'm mentioning in this post are relatively expensive.

One good tip I can give you; DON'T order a delivery, it takes forever to reach, and you end up paying high delivery fees for a cold boring burger!

2: Fat Burger:

This picture makes it look like the best, well, not really!
The sandwich was perfectly customized for burger lovers, you choose how much beef you want and your good to go.
Great taste, at least not over priced, you pay to get a good burger and you get it, just not THE perfect burger.
I went there twice, and I was a happy customer both times. Fat Burger is good, just not the best!

3: TGI Fridays:

Traditional but yet sophisticated burger! not bad for a place that is not specialized in burgers, compared to other places; it's fair, if you were craving burgers; it won't be a bad idea to go there. But again, you won't be getting THE burger.








4: Bob's:

This one is interesting, it was difficult for me not to say this is the best!
This a place were you go to when you are super hungry. You'll get a great burger, simple, finely grilled beef and very yummy fries! In other words, It's the second best thing.







5: Burger Fuel:

Just ordered it today, very tasty and unique, although I didn't like the English mustard taste in it... I mean it is good, just don't expect the traditional taste.

The fries on the other hand are amazing! They serve it with a white sauce, and it is very rich in flavor.







6: and Finally; Shake Shack:

Some people disagree, and I understand why, it is quiet a heavy duty burger, too much fat in it, but MY GOD it's yummy!
Everything about that burger is unique, the bread, the beef, the sauce, the fries, even the lettuce!
Although it's small in size; but it is enough, trust me, two of these burgers will kill you. It is kind of small compared to it's price, but you can consider it a delicious rip off!



I tried other places but I always ended up going back to Shake Shack.
So on a scale from 0 to 10, Shake Shack gets the 10... the others vary from 6 to 9... but at the end I have to mention that you shouldn't try this mission yourself, it's bad if you were keeping a diet, I gained like 5 kilos on this quest and I'm really not happy about it. So I guess the next mission would have to be; places to go to when you're on a diet!

Outside Dubai...

It's been a while since my last post. After Ramadan I've been away for my second honeymoon in Europe. Everything was arranged by Emirates Holidays. It was really nice and I enjoyed every single moment of it... umm actually ALMOST every moment of it because the flight was perfectly designed to be uncomfortable. I mean everything else the Emirates Holidays arranged was perfect, but the plane seats were really uncomfortable and tight, now imagine feeling like that for a 5 to 6 hours trip?! yeah! it was a bit too much for me.

Anyway this isn't what i'm blogging about today...

After coming back to Dubai I paid a visit to a friend of mine who lives in Umm Al Quwein, the trip there took almost 1 hour driving, in during which I could see a huge difference in every kilometer I passed.

Starting from Dubai, you could see prestigious buildings, sky scrapers, fancy hotels, a variety of malls and supermarkets, trains, etc. You can see a beautiful city right before your eyes.

After leaving Dubai, a while after passing by the Airport, you can see the city being more humble... and the explanation for that is because you have just entered Al-Sharjah. It's a nice city as well, with lots of buildings and supermarkets, but you can't see the futuristic spirit of Dubai in it.

The more I drove, the less buildings were fancy, also the less the amount of buildings there was. which got me into thinking about reasons. It's obvious that each emirate reflects its wealth in its infrastructure, few large malls were spread between Ajman and Um Al-Quwein, buildings were humble and simple.

Arriving at my friend's place, I had to look for the building name, no landmark was close or streets signs, the GPS helped a little, but i had to use the phone to get exact directions.

People who live there need to drive all the way to Dubai for dinner or to have a good time, and whenever you visit anyone there, it has to be a sit at home visit, no hanging out or a small night drive.

I think it's amazing how money can affect the look and feel of a city, more money; more business, more social life!

Ramadan, as we know it

I hear everybody lately saying that Ramadan used to have more spirit in their hearts before than these days. When we were young we couldn't wait until we see the "hilal" that announces the arrival of Ramadan, when all families gathered for Iftar and Taraweeh prayers.

I still get those images in my head of how Ramadan used to feel, races I used to make with family and friends of whom would read more of the Holy Quran, me and my friends from high school participating in organized Iftar for orphans, "Qatayef" making; the official dessert of the month, it is basically the only eastern dessert that I eat, even making them was fun!

Maybe because I was a teenager, I used to get excited about the whole package of Ramadan, in anticipation of the Eid, we used to fulfill our religious duties with joy.

However, lately Ramadan seems to have lost its touch on me and the people I know. Maybe because life is getting more and more complicated each day, or maybe because we are growing older each day!

Here in Dubai it's not so different, as much as I have to admit that I can see more "Ramadanish" spirits, lanterns and decorations in all the malls, main roads, and restaurants, and not to forget the Iftar for workers that is held at mosques, even sometimes when you reach a red traffic signal around Adhan time, somebody approaches you with a mini box of dates and a mini bottle of water, regardless of your religion, you are welcomed in the home of a Muslim community.

I believe people who don't fast enjoy Ramadan the most, less working hours, more sleep, empty streets in the morning and the evening, yeah you know what I mean, although people who are fasting are the angriest people.

All Muslims know that the demons are helpless in Ramadan, so basically no evil is being enforced on anybody, only the demons who live inside us, the demons that are made from our own ideas, growing stronger in our brains until they become a big part of our lives, something I refer to as: the inner devils.

We unleash them by fasting, in this hot weather and lack of the daily doses of caffeine, nicotine, water, or what ever, the world becomes a crazier place with angrier, sensitive, lazy, crazy driving, crappy tempered, and most importantly, stubborn people.

If people learn to stop blaming everything around them and start enjoying the benefits of this month, if fasting Muslims understand that we need to use this months to train our inner devils to obey us and not the other way around, then Ramadan would definitely have its spirit back, and we will definitely feel about it like we did when we were younger.

Visiting the embassy

It started with an attempt to open a bank account at one of the banks in Abu Dhabi, they couldn't do it because my passport was about to expire, so I thought; how hard would it be to renew my passport from here?

So I drove all the way to the Jordanian embassy in AD, only to find out that I need to register my marriage and family first, so I went with my husband to the court house to stamp the marriage contract since it was issued in the UAE, the building was fascinating! People were standing in the front just to help you know the steps you need to do and where to do them, so this guy told us exactly what to do and where to do it and made our lives really easier, took us around five minutes to get the copy of the marriage contract stamped.
Next step was to stamp it from the ministry of foreign affairs of the UAE, someone told us that there's a company called: infinity services located in Marina Mall that has a branch there specialized in such purposes, so we headed there, took a number, and also within less than 5 minutes everything was done! All what was left is going back to the embassy to finalize stuff.

When we reached there we discovered that we had a lot of missing documents and information we weren't informed of before from a guy who literally was mad at us for a reason only god knows! So we went back home to get those papers and info, take pictures, make some calls to gather information, and hoped that the next day everything will be ok.

So I went the next day to the embassy, holding each and every document that I could possibly have, hoping for them not to ask for my high school certificate.
How did it go?! Will the good part was that I didn't need my high school certificate, the bad news was it would take over two months to get things done, with an empty wallet, and disappointed face, I asked the guy to give me my papers back, and I said: I can't wait that long, I'm going back to Jordan.

Isn't it sad to know that I can easily do stuff and finish papers within seconds at any local governmental or non governmental entity in this place where I would need to struggle to get things done from my own country's embassy?!

My first UAE failure

I didn't see it coming at all, I failed the assessment driving test I was given by the driving center. It's almost impossible for someone who's been driving for more than 4 years to fail in a driving test, did I really deserve it? I don't really know.. Considering the "mistakes" I did...

Why? Everybody told me it's all about business.. I have been assigned to take 6 more classes, and pay extra 460 dhms, well I don't know about that either.

But what I do know is that I certainly didn't deserve that quality of treatment, the woman who tested me was all over the phone arranging a "wasta"! -wasta means: giving priority for things to happen for people you know-.

I was the only one who understood what was going on because I was the only Arabic girl there. Having said that, it was obvious she wasn't paying attention to our driving, and a lot of mistakes were made and she never mentioned them their reports, I'm assuming because she was busy with other stuff... Her phone maybe!

The way she was talking to us, giving us orders, and the way she gave us the results was disrespectful! I was more upset because of that than the actual failing, I believe no one deserves being treated like that.

My only question is: if we are to be tested for road driving to ensure we all drive perfectly safe, who tests them to do their work perfectly? and who ensures the quality of it?

Location:Dubai

My first UAE virus!

I've been away for a while, my mind was turned off for a reason, I was sick. I got cold after walking in the parking of Ibn Batuta mall and watching a movie inside in the cold closed room.

The jump between temperatures once you leave a building or enter one in the UAE is very dangerous if you weren't used to it.

Now I make sure to carry a small jacket with me everywhere I go to wear it indoors because i personally really hate the transitions between heat and coldness, not to mention that the heat is unbelievably high!

The humidity makes it worse as well, because even though you managed to walk into a building without sweating, your skin will be wet because of the humidity and this is exactly when you catch cold.

So now I make sure to carry a small jacket with me everywhere I go to wear it indoors! So make sure before visiting or moving to the UAE or any other Gulf country to take this note into consideration and prepare your selves for it.

Learning how to drive

So i went to take my first driving lesson today, and may I say it was B.O.R.I.N.G!!!
Why did I have to go in one circle around the other cars? I felt dizzy, angry, and depressed, and all I could think of was: shouldn't there be an evaluation test first, then determine from where to start taking the lessons? I mean, if you learned English at school and you wanted to take advanced courses, you don't start with the alphabet, right?

So I ended up wasting 2 hours of my life going in one circle, it was obvious for the trainer that I already knew how to drive, but after all you can't hang the messenger, they are only doing their jobs.

As much as I hated it, I should admit it is a good thing, Because even though you hated these lessons, eventually you will drive knowing that everyone in a car around you took such lessons, something that gives you a peace of mind and trust when you are on the road.

Location:Dubai, UAE

Getting a Driving License

 I have mentioned in my last post how you need to open your wallet every time you leave the house, I just never realized how much people would need to have in their pockets in order to get things done, and well as a start… you will need a lot to issue a driving license.

 Having said that, I should remind you that I have a Jordanian driving license, but I cannot switch it to a UAE one unless I take some mandatory lessons first and apparently pay a ton of cash in the process.

When I first applied for it I wanted to get a manual shift license, I changed my mind about that not because I realized I had to pay extra for the lessons, but because I had to pay extra to sign an approval in order for a male instructor to give me the lessons, - Note that I am not underestimating the idea, but I am only wondering why did I have to pay for that?- I mean does it cost that much to sign a paper?

I also am wondering what difference does it make if I paid cash or with a credit card?! Why do I have to pay 2.5% of the whole value if I was paying with credit card? Anyway, it was weird, and honestly money is not always an issue, but it is when you feel like you’re being ripped off. I really think it is enough that you would have to pay more than 100% of the real cost over fees and charges even though you already know how to drive.

These things could get frustrating on the long run, people work really hard in order to have better lives, and the fact that they have to put so much of their earnings over many things that they NEED to have is really hard.

 But you’ve got to wonder, all these people have a chance of letting go and going back to their countries, but they don’t! Why do they prefer to live like this? And why are they willing to spend more of their savings in order to stay here? Is it the lifestyle or is it that they have better chances here?

Dubai and the Open Wallet

It starts with the idea of getting out, if you didn’t have a car, you’d have to open your wallet for a taxi, even if you were using the subway, you won’t be able to survive walking in such weather even for 10 meters!

So you make your way to your destination, a mall, a restaurant, a friend’s place, a tower, or the beach. You will always find reasons to open that wallet, by walking near a shop that has something you might need, or a hypermarket for groceries you do need, paying the bills, or renting a movie to watch with a friend, or ordering lunch or dinner from a restaurant, pay entrance fees, or even paying the people who delivered a very heavy thing to your house. The thing is, you will always have reasons that will keep your wallets open. Family visits maybe the only time when you won’t have to, but sometimes you would also need to. And of course a walk on the beach in the summer is out of the picture.

My life in Jordan wasn’t so different as well. Considering the salaries there and how expensive life is, I am telling you Jordanians are very strong to keep up with that. 

So I could guess this is how things are in general, but hey, you gotta be careful, it’s not easy when you live in Dubai, unless you get a reasonable number on that paycheck every month, don’t bother going out much!

But the only thing that compensates to all of this is that you pay for things that deserve their prices, you get the services you want, at the time you need, and you will be happy about it.

Going to the Mall

Being new in town, I only was able to recognize some of the main roads and a few malls. Yeah, well.., I know what you would say, but no! I didn’t go for the sake of shopping!!

So I took a taxi.. went to Ibn Batuta Mall, Some people wouldn’t call that an experience! But there’s more to the story if you knew the details.

Fisrt, I opened the iPad to make a new shopping list, as I typed the items I needed, it gave me suggestions to the product’s brands, prices, and where to find it! That was so cool, because it actually helped me find the best products I needed in such a little time.

So, I was imagining that getting a taxi in this kind of hot weather will be like a mission impossible! But I was wrong.  I visited the  RTA’s website (RTA is the Roads & Transports Authority in the UAE: which is probably the BEST governmental online service in the Middle East), so I grabbed the phone, called a taxi, and it took them less than 5 minutes to be right on my doorstep! YEAH! That’s something! When compared to what I used to go through before, where getting a taxi meant standing at the pavement waiting desperately and receiving “compliments” from the guys around.

The shops are organized in general, you feel like your thoughts are right in place in your head where they should be  as you make your way to get what you want. But of course... what I say is based on my own experience combined with my own persona, maybe some people would disagree.

It didn’t end up well when I tried going back home, the taxi driver didn’t have a clue of how to get to the area where I live. He was going around and around the place until I managed to recognize the roads and show him the way... that consumed a lot of time and money!

But the first thing that was obvious for me to learn from this small experience is that; life is easier around here, and you really don’t have to struggle to get your things done everyday...  or exhaust yourself  worrying about how to get through the day.

Dubai Social Network

Every day; I receive calls from family and friends from Jordan, which I treasure, this way I would never feel away from them. But growing up in a community like the Jordanian one, you’d understand what the word “Ghorbeh” or “Expatriation” means there.

 

It’s a nightmare! In other words, people are afraid of it, because they still believe that if their sons and daughters are out of country... they’ll be vulnerable without their families, and more exposed to danger!

In fact a lot of young people struggle with this, whether it was a marriage proposal, study abroad, job opportunity, or even a vacation! It gets rejected by their parents because it is in another country, especially for females. I’ve faced it myself more than once when I got a scholarship and when I got married.

 

I didn’t share this “opinion” with the community because I believe that time has changed now, and it’s not as hard as they still think it is... add the fact that I love traveling and experiencing new cultures and life styles.

Which brings me to the real point I want to make here, it isn’t really like that in the UAE! The fact that the country has so many expats from all over the world, the possibilities of meeting someone from your own country are very high! Especially people you already know… each family in the Middle East has someone working, living, studying, or even shopping in the UAE.  It’s a place full of movement, and you get to see family members and old friends all the time. 

 

Like the other day, I grabbed the phone, arranged plans with my high school friends who happen to live here, and the next thing you know, we are reunioned! We spent the whole day together, which was something almost impossible to do before since we had a curfew to stick to.

 

In the end, what I mean to say is that this fact gives us more reasons to stay in touch with each other, people here look after each other more, and no one ever feels alone here because everyone is introduced to each other. This makes me fall in love with the idea that this community is becoming one big family that welcomes new members so warmly that they would feel “almost” like at home.

The difference between the UAE and the rest of the world...

During the years, I've come to meet or notice people from all around the world who happen to share the same idea about America, that it is the best country in the world.

To be honest, when I had the thought of creating this blog, I had no intention to make comparisons between countries, but to answer all the people who insisted on making them... I'm making this subject first on my blog.

Well here's the thing, where ever you go, and no matter how good that place was;  you will ALWAYS find someone comparing it with the States. You'd hear: " oh i wish i was in the states" or " it's so much better in America", or " GOD BLESS USA for this or that!!". And honestly, i don't blame them... America has been the leading country in the world for decades, we grew up on the dream that we will visit it someday or have a chance to study or work there. It's a place where chances are found, where people look for new beginnings and better lives.. it's basically a dream for a lot of people. 

But let's look at it from a different perspective... in my opinion what makes it a leading country is the Political power. I mean yes, it is also strong economically and industrially, but so is Japan!  It's really difficult to compare, because there are many powerful countries in the world. But there are some differences between the US and the UAE that no one can deny, the US has higher crime rates, poverty, homeless population, racism, and you can tell where i'm going from here.

It took the USA more than 200 years to become the "First world country", (in 1778, when the "United States of America" was declared as the official name), but it took the UAE less than 40 years to become what it is today (starting from1972 when the union was formed). Let us not underestimate this fact, the Emirates managed to become one of the leading Arab countries in all aspects in no time! it has developed in economics, education, infrastructure, culture, business, and health. all of a sudden, you can see high towers and bridges everywhere, trains passing above the streets, malls in every area of a city, and landmarks that are recognized in the whole world like Burj Khalifa and Sheikh Zayed Mosque! and I can't forget to mention that you can walk in the streets finding no homeless people in the way, and most importantly no criminals holding out a gun in your face asking you to give them your wallet!

These are not just words and numbers, these are people and years of dedication to the good of their country.

So YES! it is a place that's worth recognition and respect, and I'm guessing that in also no time, the UAE will be where chances, new beginnings, and hopes are found for many generations to come.

Introduction

As I sit in my house drinking coffee and looking through the window, I remembered… it wasn’t so long ago when I used to be dreaming about getting out of Jordan to study masters in Italy.
 

As the years passed, I made compromises… I wanted to go anywhere to study masters, but no place seemed to be close enough for my family to accept. It was really hard for me to live in a world where the chances are limited for women.  So the dream became stronger, it began to consume my thoughts, growing everyday in my head. But living in a place like that with a mentality like mine was the main reason for the dream to become JUST getting the hell out of Jordan!
 

But as we all know, God works in mysterious ways. Apparently I was meant to leave Jordan somewhere along the road, but in a totally different way than I had planned for.  Marriage was the last option on the list, only because I didn’t know that the right guy really existed.
 

As I start my life here in the UAE with the man I love, a very different place than any other country I’ve been to, I find this place a master piece, a social make-over, and most importantly, a place where stories are to be told.

So instead of waiting for my next visit to Jordan to tell family and friends how I fell in love with the Emirates, I might as well blog about them and share it with the whole world! My UAExperience will be my first blog, hope you like it.