Today we paid a year's worth of rent (nice for all those investors) and completed our suitcase move to the Palm Jumeirah. The new apartment is very nice and spacious, especially since it's brand new and there's no furniture yet. Neal conveniently just left for the airport to go back to Pittsburgh and assorted meetings. I have three days to buy furniture before I leave to come home for a week. No pressure!
Dubai has a hyperactive online marketplace for reselling all kinds of stuff since people move and come and go all the time. Some of it is practically brand new at steep discounts, very enticing, but there's also a bunch of crap. My first purchase: a sepia canvas poster of Muhammed Ali, to set the proper "I'm an American, don't f&@k with me" tone. One person's crap, another person's treasure. Right now I'm only attracted to stuff that's both cheap and that we don't need (almost bought a giant bonsai tree!). My second purchase is likely to be an air mattress, if I can find one. I could not find a measuring tape or hangars in the entire Do-buy mall! Wal-mart is what's missing--it would be amazing here! Ikea just came and is doing great.
I am beginning to suspect that the little people here--like the hotel staff and the shop people--secretly like Americans, but the other expats (loads from the UK, Australia, South Africa) not so much. Not sure about the Emiratis. They still seem scary to me, although I did hitch a ride with an Emirati woman who was just as lost as me trying to get to a furniture store.
Someday I may post the story of the safe fiasco (as in hotel safe) but not now. Whatever Neal says is only partially true, as usual.
Dubai has a hyperactive online marketplace for reselling all kinds of stuff since people move and come and go all the time. Some of it is practically brand new at steep discounts, very enticing, but there's also a bunch of crap. My first purchase: a sepia canvas poster of Muhammed Ali, to set the proper "I'm an American, don't f&@k with me" tone. One person's crap, another person's treasure. Right now I'm only attracted to stuff that's both cheap and that we don't need (almost bought a giant bonsai tree!). My second purchase is likely to be an air mattress, if I can find one. I could not find a measuring tape or hangars in the entire Do-buy mall! Wal-mart is what's missing--it would be amazing here! Ikea just came and is doing great.
I am beginning to suspect that the little people here--like the hotel staff and the shop people--secretly like Americans, but the other expats (loads from the UK, Australia, South Africa) not so much. Not sure about the Emiratis. They still seem scary to me, although I did hitch a ride with an Emirati woman who was just as lost as me trying to get to a furniture store.
Someday I may post the story of the safe fiasco (as in hotel safe) but not now. Whatever Neal says is only partially true, as usual.
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