8 months: I Can See The Finish Line!

Hello Readers near and far!

Thank you so much for the kind messages and emails about my car accident, I really appreciate it and I am doing much better. I still have some neck pain but besides that I am feeling much better. 

     Things around here have been quiet. The temperature is rising and that is making it hard to be outside for long periods of time. The temperatures hover around 42 C in the day and 30C at night. I think I am going to have to give in and get a membership at a gym (this often includes pool access when the gym is part of a hotel). The gym is in the new Rotana hotel that just opened in February , they are giving ADEC teachers a 20% discount in the annual fee and it translates to about 1000$ Canadian a year. Expensive by Canadian standards but pretty normal by UAE standards. My health is very important and I think that a thousand dollars is a small investment to take care of myself. I will also have access to the pool:

I will also have access to the jaccuzzi and      steam room and sauna.  The only thing that sucks is that the amount has to be paid all at once and cannot be broken up into two or three payments.  They agreed to give me a three day trial so I am going to start that tomorrow.

Thursday night I had a Cinquo de Mayo themed game night. I made margaritas, guacamole and my friend made pico de gallo. We had a blast. I downloaded an 'urban' version of taboo and it went down.  Hilarity insued. Words like 'baby daddy' and 'cornrows' wereon the list. I am definitely going to have another one before the year is out.

Friday there was a Hip Hop Night party here in Al Ain. The music was great ( he even did a little reggae set). I got dressed up and looked pretty nice if I do say so myself (if I do day so myself, if I do say so myself-Jay Z voice).

Dress-forever21

Shoes- Steve Madden

Next weekend I am heading to the kingdom of Bahrain! Woot woot! 

Have a great week! 

Car Accident In the UAE

     Hello readers, sorry I haven't posted in awhile but things here were not good.  Earlier this week I was in a car accident that could have been a lot worse than it was.

     I was out late on Monday night because I had gone to Dubai with a friend and was driving home from their place when the accident happened. I was going through a roundabout ( Al Ain where I live has about 525, 252 of them) and a lady entered the roundabout too early and hit me. I swerved, jumped the sidewalk and hit a small tree.  I was so shocked when I stepped out of the car I was shaking and almost burst out in tears. I could barely speak. Everything happens so quickly. Thank God it was 2 o'clock in the morning. What if someone had been walking on the sidewalk? What if there was another car in the roundabout? 

    My car had two flat tires and was undrivable. We called the police (999 by the way not 911) they came, took pictures and wrote a report. I rent my car, soni had to call the car rental place do they could come and take the car away. I was so thankful that my friends came and stayed with me until this whole ordeal was over. Since the accident was not my fault I will not have to pay anything.

    By the time I got home it was 4 am and I had to get up for work in an hour. I decided to call in sick. When I got up a few hours later I had some neck and back pain so I went to the hospital and got some x rays done. The doctor said they were fine and gave me some anti-inflammatory medication to take. I went home and rested my back. The next morning I was still in some pain so I stayed home again. I finally started to feel better later that evening. The more I think about the accident the more I am thankful that it wasn't worse.

Have a Happy Easter! 

I'm on a Boat

     Last Friday I headed to Dubai for a joint birthday yacht party. The party was great. They hired a DJ that played songs I haven't heard in a minute (Choppa style, chop-chop-Choppa style). There was food, cupcakes and the beverages were never ending. 

Inside the yacht.

On deck

I clean up pretty well.

Another boat passing in the night.

What a great way to end Speing Break.

I Went back to school today had 9/21 kids in my first class and about 20/60 in the whole grade. Kids got sent home at 10 am, I got to leave at 12:30. That is all.

Only 88 days until I am on my way home for summer but who is counting. 

Time Flies When You Work In The UAE

    As my staycation comes to an end (insert me crying here) I have come to realize that in three short months I will be back home for the summer (doing the Carleton dance).  But before I get to that let me fill you in on what I have been doing these last few days:

     Working out

Got these pants at the Nike outlet store in the Dubai Outlet Mall. Love them! When I have fun workout clothing it makes me want to workout even more. 

The Dubai Outlet Mall is good, but still not as good as the outlet malls in the States and their prices aren't as good as TJ Maxx or Winners either. But hey you gotta work with what you got.

Bought some art at Global Village in Dubai. The two pieces in either end of the black and white piece is from the Africa pavilion. They are from Kenya and I absolutely love them.  They are oil or acryli painted on wood.

    Had a tasty treat at Mug Cafe down the street from where I live. Yes, this tasted as good as it looked! 

     Went back to Saadiyat beach.

All in all I am happy with the way my vacation turned out. It

 of course I am sad to see it end.  But the sooner we get back to work, the sooner summer is here! 

On another note, we are entering Term 3 at work. Only about 7 weeks of teaching and then a few weeks of prep and then finished!!! I am shocked at how fast this year went by. Even went I was in Japan the year did not seem to go by so fast.  I cannot believe that I am almost done my first year living in the UAE. C-R-A-Z-Y!

I am going to buy my ticket home with my next pay check, in two weeks I am going to go home through Italy and spend a week there. I have always wanted to visit the Amalfi Coast and the fact that I am going to make that dream a reality is still jaw dropping.

Welcome all new readers. Thank you to those of you who have sent me emails and left comments. I truly appreciate all the love I have received on this blog. Hopefully, I will continue to entertain you with my antics.

We are heading to Dubai this weekend for the 'last lap' as Trinis say before we head back to work on Sunday.

Turn up! 

What To Pack, What to Leave

     Some of you are probably at home with the huge task of moving over here. What should I bring? What should I leave? Well have no fear Miss Haneefa is here! I will try to help out and suggest some things you should bring:

-Hair products: bring them! If you have a special cream or shampoo that you love bring a few bottles. It is hard to find black hair products here, especially if you have a specific brand you like. I also find it expensive to have things mailed so you better just bring them. 

-Weave hair: I don't wear weaves but many of my friends do and they all say that you should bring any weave hair you like from home. You will have no problem finding someone who can sew it in. Also if you like getting twists (ex: Senegalese) bring some twist hair because it is hard to find here and many salons don't carry it. 

- Pharmacy medications: things like cough syrup, cold/ sinus medication, NyQuil, medications for heart burn and upset stomachs, specialty Tylanol like Arthritis Tylanol will be easier had if you bring it from home. If they are mailed from home the post office will open your package and go though and question every piece in your box.

-Mouthwash: almost 10$ for a small bottle!! If you are a mouthwash fan bring a few bottles.

-Health products: I am a big fan of echineachia and find that it is not only expensive here but also hard to find it in drop form.

-Tampons: sometimes hard to find. Especially if you like a certain brands

-Condoms #justsaying #noglovenolove

-Everyday Clothes: bring a lot of long skirts and maxi dresses with cardigans. These will serve you well.

-Dress Clothes: BRING these!!! No matter how short/tight/sexy your favorite dress is bring it! You will have opportunities to go out (especially in Dubai) and you can wear these. I have so many friends that didn't being so many items of clothing because they thought they were too inappropriate for the UAE and wish they had brought them.

-Heels: bring a few of your favorite pairs

-School supplies: since you don't know where you will be placed or what grade you will be teaching you cannot go wrong with bring a huge pack (or three) of whiteboard markers and ticky tack.

I think that is it.

P.s don't worry if you have to bring an extra suitcase. I paid extra to bring an extra bag and it was worth it. 

Happy Packing! 

I Am The Master Of My Ship

     Let us be honest. Real honest. Super honest. The type of honest that can sometimes be scary when you say it out loud. You can only depend on yourself. There I said it. At the end of the day you control your life. You can try to blame your parents, or your job or even your friends. But you are just fooling yourself. You control your life. If you don't like the way you look, get up and work out. If your not having fun at a party, get on the dance floor and dance or go talk to that hot someone at the bar. You can't blame others for what is going on in your life. You are he ultimate master of your destiny.

    I was upset the other day because I stayed at home and did nothing. No one called me. No one sent me a text. No emails, no nothing. I felt like no one gave a sh*t. Then I realized. I can't rely on other to make my vacation fun. I have to do that. I am a grown woman. I have a car. I have money. What is stoping me from doing what I want? Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

   This morning I said to myself that I am NOT spending another day at home watching countless hours of Netflix (side note: American Horror Story is the bomb dot com). I got up, got dressed and drove an hour and a bit to Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world.  Yes, I can do that as a day trip.  I walked around looking at stuff I could never afford ( I am looking at you sexy a$$ Chanel bag) and did a little shopping. I ate some sushi, because that is what I wanted to do:

Bought some clothes I didn't need.

Bought a high waisted bikini because I have always wanted one and found one that fits.

I then went to Global Village all by myself. Yes, all by myself. Cause let us be honest (that is the theme today) if you can't spend time with yourself, how can you expect others to spend time with you. How can someone else tolerate you if you can't tolerate yourself? 

Tomorrow I will go to the beach because that is what my heart desires. I will wear my new bathing suit and of someone has an issue they can look away and the size 2 girl over there.

     I am not a fan of complainers.  You will never here me complain about my body because a) it is mine, and once again if I cannot love it how can I expect someone else to b) I know I have things to work on and I am working in them. Point finale. I hate being around chronic complainers. They kill the mood, damper the situation and are just no plain fun. 

    People that know me always say one thing about me: I always look on the bright side, cause there is always a bright side. The light may be dim and faded, but there is always light. Find it. It is so easy to complain and b*tch about life. I'm  fat, I'm broke, I'm single, I'm (fill in the blank) but no one wants to hear that. Negative thoughts only spawn more negative thoughts and eventually they get out of control. Please try not to fed them.   I am not perfect and at times complain too, but then I remember that complaining is not going to solve anything. If you are not partner the solution you are part of the problem. 

   This is my vacation and I cannot blame my one but myself if it sucks, so I am about to make the best of the situation, after all I am in the UAE right? There could be worse things ;)

Cravin Cajun

    I went to a fantastic restaurant in Dubai tonight. Cravin Cajun opened in January in the Novotel Al Barsha near Emirates Mall and is absolutely delicious. The head chef is from Louisiana and there is live jazz as you eat. Great Ambiance + good food = my new favorite spot! 

I had a Hemingway daquiri to start: Rum, maraschino liquor, grapefruit juice and lime juice. I just wish the glass wasn't so small.

I had the crab cake for my appetiser.

Even the little decoration salad on the side was good. My friend had the Cajun fried shrimp. They were huge!

Yummy!  By this time my phone died:( 

For my main meal I had chicken and waffles which were delicious. I had enough to take a doggy bag home.

Of course I had dessert. A peanut butter and chocolate pie.

Delicious!