A country in Mourning =

Wouldnt ya' know it, the prime minister/leader of Dubai had to go and die the very day the festival was to start! UAE is a kingdom so since this guy was royalty the country is in mourning for the next 40 days and the festival is postponed for 10 days. Oh well, probably for the best, then I didnt spend too much money. That and I have to carry anything I buy, with me for the next...however many months. I am just now adapting to the culture here (and I leave today!) I had never before been in a society where Muslim culture was so influential and prevalent. I thought I was open minded, but it really took me back seeing every other person in the traditional dress. But I'm ok now. This city wreaks of money. The buildings, the malls, the parks, and everything are exquisite. Even though the shopping festival was canceled (even the fireworks which were planned to be the highest ever in the world!) the malls remained open to take advantage of all the tourists that were already here. We spend the 4th shopping most of the day. I wasnt really into it, the prices were just as high as in the US and I dont have extra money to be spending anyway. So I didnt really have much fun doing that. But the malls really are amazing. They are huge and beautiful. Yesterday we went to an area called Jumeira beach on the Arabian sea. Oh my goodness that was beautiful. I of course spent most of my time picking up sea shells (If you know me, you know that I can spend hours picking up rocks/shells along the water...pretty much anywhere!) It is considered their winter here so Simones family advised against wearing shorts to the beach (swimming was out of the question!). But when we got there, I being a Minnesotan, found it wonderfully warm and would have loved to have jumped in even fully clothed! Instead I opted to roll up my pants and splash around on the edge. We also went shopping...again. I never thought I could get so sick of shopping! We also ate a lot of "shormas" (sp?) while here. They are the local specialty. They remind me of a California burrito! It is like a pita bread torn open with roasted chicken (with lots of adabain spices), french fries, mayo, veggies, garlic, etc all rolled up inside. They are really good. Simones family has been very nice and hospitable (even though her little brother drove me a little nuts!) Ok, well my time at the "Lemon cyber cafe" is almost up. Next time I write I should be back in India Take care all