The Honeymooners

So we did it. We took the plunge. After months of talking, planning and packing for it, we finally made it to the land of sun and sand. We left the snow belt of CNY, our nest in Princeton, and our family and loved ones. While the separation will not be easy, we are thrilled to begin our next chapter abroad.

Our trip started with flight delays, which could have cost us a couple of days instead of a few hours. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and we arrived as scheduled. The little one was a trooper...as we carried loads and loads of luggage and carry-ons, her little legs were working overtime, as she followed along with Rudy the T-Rex, Pipkin (from Happy Feet), and her beloved animal blanket (thank you Lea). She even managed to do this at JFK, which was no easy task. She struggled a bit to get comfortable on the flight, but overall, she slept well. As for the husband, he spent most of the flight catching up and watching movies I refused to watch with him, or I could just care less about. I watched some really bad chick flick I can't remember the name of, slept a little, then watched an endless stream of Bollywood videos. Thank you for that little gem, Emirates.

We sailed through passport control, and arrived at the hotel. It was about 10:30pm and we decided to take our first venture out into the city. That's the glory of living in a city--you can actually go places after 9pm!! We took a quick trip to the Mall of Emirates, since it is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. This is no ordinary mall...this is the place where you can (snow) ski, and buy every bit of couture your wallet can handle. For those of you from Jersey, it makes Short Hills look like the bargain outlets down Business Route 1. Needless to say, I don't think my family will do much shopping there unless we happen upon millions of dollars. However, given its size, I imagine that we will do quite a bit wandering there so the little one can burn some energy since we walked for over an hour and saw virtually nothing.

After getting a few hours of sleep, we headed to the Dubai Mall. Yes, they love their malls and it is clear that these places are the cornerstone of life in the UAE. After all, we will spend about 4 months of the year feeling like we are bursting into flames, so having our choice of oversized, air-conditioned mega-malls is fine with me.  The Dubai Mall is home to the Dubai Aquarium, Kidzania, the Underwater Zoo, and the neighbor of the Burj Khalifa (queue Mission Impossible theme song) and the Dancing Fountain. On the storefront, it is sort of the cleaner, bigger equivalent of Quakerbridge Mall. Translation: the shopping is more affordable and I don't have the sensation of my wallet burning a hole in my pocket or chest pains due to sticker shock.

Last but not least, it is Shopping Festival time. So, not only are things tax free, they are cheaper than usual. This should make for a much more enjoyable home goods shopping experience.

They say there are multiple stages of culture shock--the honeymoon phase then forming, storming, norming. Right now I'd say we are honeymooners and enjoying every bit of this adventure.

While there are still many things to explore, tasks to complete, and jobs to do, we are quickly feeling at home. Stay tuned for more from the UAE!