Something Beautiful

There's something very different about my last place of residence and the UAE. And it is called money.

It is so weird that a bunch of slimy black gunk, made from the remains of dead things, is the difference between absolute poverty and sickening opulence in the world.

I have been in Dubai for four days now and everywhere I look, there is something beautiful. A beautiful shopping mall. A beautiful fountain. A street lined with green grass. A cityscaped row of skyscrapers. A palm tree. The Persian Gulf. The Arabian night. A Baskin Robbins.

Invariably, no matter to what you lift your eyes here, you will see something beautiful. You have to search for the ugly. In this respect I am grateful for the change from Afghanistan.

But the most beautiful thing I have seen here was something I couldn't touch. It was the huge expanse of ocean, with the sun setting over it. Something I will never take for granted to see again.

Something funny- 70% of the taxi drivers in Dubai are from Afghanistan or Pakistan. And almost all of these speak Pashto. So I have had the utter delight of getting to talk to all but one of my drivers in Pashto. And I thought my chances to practice were over. But the number of languages you hear here is insane. At the mall yesterday, I heard English, Chinese, Farsi, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, French, Swedish, and all within five minutes of each other, just sitting there listening as people walked by. Crazy malls.

One thing I have realized: if you are going to go to Dubai for a whole week, by the fourth day it will be much more fun with a friend or family. Although it is REALLY fun to stay at a guest house where you meet people from all over the world, going all over the world. I met a family from New Zealand, headed to Uganda. A couple from Djibouti, headed to Texas. Sisters from London, headed to Afghanistan. People from Afghanistan, headed all over the world.

I have really enjoyed getting some alone time, but now I am definitely ready to see all of you. My plane leaves tomorrow... hee hee!