Hey Everyone!
HAPPY 2014!!
Yes I know, my greeting is kinda late.. but it is better late than never!
Please let me explain..(drama!)
First, let me say that we had a blast on our US trip for the holidays.. I am so happy to be with my whole family. Last time we were complete was 5years back and last time I spent Christmas with them was 7years ago. We have not been complete for Christmas for a very very long time. So it was indeed a merry Christmas for us.
Okay.. going back to my explanation.. my jetlag was so terrible on my first week back in Dubai. The 9 hour difference was really a bummer! I was awake every night, have breakfast at 8am, then falls asleep at around 10:30-11:00 and I wake up around 3:00pm. This was how I was for about a week. Good thing Chief and I allotted days for adjustment and did not consume all the days of our holiday in the US so we have time to adjust when we get back. Another thing was there was a holiday the end of the week we got back. It was a three day weekend.. so yeah.. we were lucky!
But frankly, I would have stayed a couple of days more in the US, if only Chief didn't have commitments immediately after the holidays, I would've stayed a few more days back. I missed my family.. and I was really crying when we got back. Of course I did not let Chief see me cry. My sister was another story because she was crying so hard when I left. My sister and I are very close, BFF sisters.. Funny was we were not when we were young.. we were arch enemies.. to a point remembering that we joined dance contests in our village where she was part of one group and I was part of another and we were top contenders.. lol!! but that was when we were young..
Anyway.. so yeah.. I was sleeping during the day and awake during the night.. I was groggy most of the time.. and the thing is. Chief and I had different sleep times.. i sleep 10:30am-3:00pm (btw that's only 4.5 hours of sleep for several days!!!!) and Chief sleeps at around 6:30pm til midnight.. then sleep again around 3-4am and wakes up at 8am.. He slept more than me..
Now after a week of reporting back to work, I am adjusted. First few days was so difficult because I had to stay awake in the office.
So, this is the reason why my greetings for you guys are late.. I hope I am forgiven :)
While we are away from the country, Dubai then prepared for a big New Years Eve Celebration. They want to get the title for the biggest fireworks display for Guinness Book of World Records ( which they did by the way!).
Fireworks were prepared on three major places namely the Burj Khalifa (of course!) The tallest building in the world to date, Burj Al Arab (Of course!!) the first 7 star hotel in the world and the first icon of Dubai, and The Palm Jumeirah (Of course!) and this I don't think I have to explain..
I have to say that after watching the videos, it gave me goosebumps and made me teary eyed. Makes me so proud of this country which is my home for the last 7 years of my life. Yep, I have been here 7 years now and on my way to my 8th!
I may not be here when they started but I was a witness for the growth and the development of the last 7 years.. it is unbelievable..
See my relationship with Dubai is what they call a "love-hate" relationship.. this is what I call my home for now.. But I know soon Chief and I will be leaving this place because we have to take the next step in the next few years.. And the truth is, this is not a place to grow a family.. this is only for young people and a temporary place. Residency is designed in a way that people will not settle for good..apart from that, it is really not child friendly (at the moment..).
Dubai is a jungle where you need to be lions to survive.. and it is not ideal for family. Work schedules do not permit parents to spend time with children.. and work can be so stressful that you just go home to sleep. As I said, if you are single or a couple with no children, things can work out. Weather which most of the time is scorching hot does not permit people to stay outside. This is not good when you have children. We live on air conditioned villas, apartments which is not good for our health.
Anyway.. it is really a difficult thing and it takes another blog post to explain this so enough of that for now..
For Dubai's New Year Celebration, let me share the following videos..
For those who have minimal time and patience.. this is the short video of the highlights of Burj Khalifa 2014 NYE Fireworks..
and this is the one in Palm Jumeirah..
and for those who want to see all (Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, Palm Jumeirah) here is the complete compilation of all..
I hope you guys enjoy watching the videos as much as I did..
Happy New Year again everyone!
HAPPY 2014!!
Yes I know, my greeting is kinda late.. but it is better late than never!
Please let me explain..(drama!)
First, let me say that we had a blast on our US trip for the holidays.. I am so happy to be with my whole family. Last time we were complete was 5years back and last time I spent Christmas with them was 7years ago. We have not been complete for Christmas for a very very long time. So it was indeed a merry Christmas for us.
Okay.. going back to my explanation.. my jetlag was so terrible on my first week back in Dubai. The 9 hour difference was really a bummer! I was awake every night, have breakfast at 8am, then falls asleep at around 10:30-11:00 and I wake up around 3:00pm. This was how I was for about a week. Good thing Chief and I allotted days for adjustment and did not consume all the days of our holiday in the US so we have time to adjust when we get back. Another thing was there was a holiday the end of the week we got back. It was a three day weekend.. so yeah.. we were lucky!
But frankly, I would have stayed a couple of days more in the US, if only Chief didn't have commitments immediately after the holidays, I would've stayed a few more days back. I missed my family.. and I was really crying when we got back. Of course I did not let Chief see me cry. My sister was another story because she was crying so hard when I left. My sister and I are very close, BFF sisters.. Funny was we were not when we were young.. we were arch enemies.. to a point remembering that we joined dance contests in our village where she was part of one group and I was part of another and we were top contenders.. lol!! but that was when we were young..
Anyway.. so yeah.. I was sleeping during the day and awake during the night.. I was groggy most of the time.. and the thing is. Chief and I had different sleep times.. i sleep 10:30am-3:00pm (btw that's only 4.5 hours of sleep for several days!!!!) and Chief sleeps at around 6:30pm til midnight.. then sleep again around 3-4am and wakes up at 8am.. He slept more than me..
Now after a week of reporting back to work, I am adjusted. First few days was so difficult because I had to stay awake in the office.
So, this is the reason why my greetings for you guys are late.. I hope I am forgiven :)
While we are away from the country, Dubai then prepared for a big New Years Eve Celebration. They want to get the title for the biggest fireworks display for Guinness Book of World Records ( which they did by the way!).
Fireworks were prepared on three major places namely the Burj Khalifa (of course!) The tallest building in the world to date, Burj Al Arab (Of course!!) the first 7 star hotel in the world and the first icon of Dubai, and The Palm Jumeirah (Of course!) and this I don't think I have to explain..
I have to say that after watching the videos, it gave me goosebumps and made me teary eyed. Makes me so proud of this country which is my home for the last 7 years of my life. Yep, I have been here 7 years now and on my way to my 8th!
I may not be here when they started but I was a witness for the growth and the development of the last 7 years.. it is unbelievable..
See my relationship with Dubai is what they call a "love-hate" relationship.. this is what I call my home for now.. But I know soon Chief and I will be leaving this place because we have to take the next step in the next few years.. And the truth is, this is not a place to grow a family.. this is only for young people and a temporary place. Residency is designed in a way that people will not settle for good..apart from that, it is really not child friendly (at the moment..).
Dubai is a jungle where you need to be lions to survive.. and it is not ideal for family. Work schedules do not permit parents to spend time with children.. and work can be so stressful that you just go home to sleep. As I said, if you are single or a couple with no children, things can work out. Weather which most of the time is scorching hot does not permit people to stay outside. This is not good when you have children. We live on air conditioned villas, apartments which is not good for our health.
Anyway.. it is really a difficult thing and it takes another blog post to explain this so enough of that for now..
For Dubai's New Year Celebration, let me share the following videos..
For those who have minimal time and patience.. this is the short video of the highlights of Burj Khalifa 2014 NYE Fireworks..
and this is the one in Palm Jumeirah..
and for those who want to see all (Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, Palm Jumeirah) here is the complete compilation of all..
I hope you guys enjoy watching the videos as much as I did..
Happy New Year again everyone!
CIAO!
-CARMI
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