I did get my resident visa last week put in my passport.....and it's official...I am a "Housewife"
Hopefully I won't last long with this title....When I do find employment this will change, but I do have to get permission from Nick to work, he will have to sign me away from my 'housewife' duties..maybe he won't let me work..haha

We went over to Dubai this weekend as Nick attended the TESOL Arabia conference. While it was a quick weekend and Nick had some presentation to attend we still got a chance to meet up with a couple colleagues from Japan and hit the spice and gold souk (market). We really didn't even do that much shopping, only one mall for us and only 5...10 stores were visited :)

It's about a 1 hour 1/2 ride to Dubai and Thursday afternoon there was very little traffic which made for smooth sailing. Thankfully our friend Tara drove and she's become quite the expert driving here. Nick did get his license though...so he's up next.

Compared to Abu Dhabi there is a lot more....a ton more building going on over there and when you hit the city it is much more sprawled out then AD and over all a much larger city. Although, lacking from Dubai which is a pleasant addition in AD, is the greenery, trees and flowers. Very few were seen in Dubai. I know that both cities are trying to increase the number of green areas.

Here are a few photos from our trip to the souks, more photos from Dubai can be seen on Picasa
The gold souk was filled with tons and tons of gold and diamonds...I am sure I won't have a problem picking out something from here in the future!

We weren't exactly sure what an 'articulated bus' was when we saw it this past weekend in Dubai or why we should take caution?But being good English teachers we figured the double bus with the accordian joint in the middle must have something to do with it being 'Articulated' :)

A little out of focus, but a bit different sign for the ladies toilet here in the UAE. The outline of an abaya for the women.

While the weather is still very pleasant in Abu Dhabi, around 85 everyday, we have been able to enjoy being at the beach during the day. It won't last for long though, they say that in a month the heat and humidity will really start to set in...

Here are a few snaps from Abu Dhabi Marina where I enjoyed lunch one afternoon, trying to get a sushi fix with a take away from Carrefour. Just not the same, but beautiful views!