ana mumkin - انا ممكن: November 2010

I had hoped that I wouldn't go for a month between blog posts, but what can I do now? I've been keeping incredibly busy and every time I think about posting it's like there's too much floating around in my head to synthesize into a coherent post. Many people have been asking to see more pictures, so I'll spare a few words and give some visuals of what I've been up to here in Dubai.

Last week was the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, so we had several days off from school. The week was filled for me with some more new experiences, the most fun of which was going to the desert. You might think, what can be so fun about a bunch of sand and scorching sun? But I can tell you that it's a lot of fun.. I went on a couple trips with different groups of people.

On the day of Eid, some girlfriends and I (all Americans) decided to go on a "Desert Safari" guided tour. This is one of the things all the tourbooks tell you to go on, so I was expecting something very touristy and gimmicky. While it was pretty touristy, the entire trip was a blast. It started out with "dune bashing," which means riding over the sand dunes in a 4x4, which can get scary and bumpy. Then that was followed by going to a camp with camel rides, henna painting, dressing up in traditional dress, a huge buffet dinner, and a show of traditional dancing. We did a little photo shoot in the desert with the new camera I got for my birthday (thanks, Grandmas!) and the photos turned out beautifully. The traditional dance show was also awesome--I got to see some great belly dancing, Sufi "whirling dervishes," and more.

The Desert

"Dune bashing" (and our driver on the phone)

Getting a henna tattoo

Finished henna tattoos

Falcon handler

Me & the falcon

Me & sand

The camp where we ate and watched the performances

Me, Aziza, & Julia

Aziza, Julia, Alyssa, & me

Dinner

Traditional instrumental music

Bellydancer

Sufi dancer

Sufi "whirling dervishes" with light-up skirts

My friend Julia got to try out the spinning dance

Another bellydancer

Trying on traditional dress (the abaya)

For the second trip I felt like less of a tourist. I went with four other friends outside of Dubai, near Fujairah, which is another Emirate with a bit more nature. We arrived at night and set up a tent at a campsite near the mountains and the beach. We built a fire and grilled chicken and beef kebabs for dinner. In the morning the guys and I climbed a nearby mountain. One thing I've missed about being in Oregon is the nature and the hiking, which I used to do fairly often. At Lewis & Clark we have Tryon Creek State Park within walking distance from campus, which is a beautiful place to take a walk or run. So I really enjoyed hiking on these mountains, sweating a bit, and getting some elevation. The only thing missing was something GREEN, but that's alright.