Saturday 23rd January 2016.

3:45pm and 24 degrees.

So I know it's literally been months since I last posted on here. Apologies. It amazing how time literally flies here and how quickly I have started actually living a life here instead of just being a tourist in awe of everything. Don't get me wrong a lot of things still catch me doing a double take... People sprinting across six lanes of crazy traffic to get to the other side, fireworks every weekend for the whole of January to celebrate shopping festival, and people getting golf buggy taxis to travel around the malls instead of walking... To name a few!

Before Christmas I was so excited to get home. I had the best Christmas ever catching up with family and friends and I thought I wouldn't want to come back. But I literally have fallen in love with Dubai. Being at the beach every weekend in Whitstable (where I went to dance college) was one thing, but being at the beach every weekend sunbathing... In December and January is another! 

Christmas time in Dubai was a strange one. They do their very best to make it feel like Christmas and to my surprise most of the children I teach, no matter what nationality or religion, seem to celebrate Christmas in some way. Nearly everyone seems to recognise Christmas in some way, most of the children said they do give and receive presents but don't obviously celebrate the reason behind Christmas, have Christmas dinner or go as elaborate with the decorations as England do!! Probably the best display of Christmas I saw was a couple of days before I left for the Christmas holidays. Luke, Kiera and I headed to the Madinat jumeirah for the Christmas market. The Madinat is a luxury resort in Dubai made up of two luxury hotels, many restaurants, and a theatre surrounded by water features and landscaped gardens all in the theme of Ancient Arabia. The Christmas market didn't live up to the big Christmas markets in Manchester or Birmingham but they had made a pretty good effort. The Christmas tree however was massive and with all the decorations and lights, it did feel pretty Christmassy. There's something very surreal about walking around a Christmas market in 25 degree heat, at 8pm, in shorts in the middle of December!

However it doesn't beat a cold morning walk up spook wood at Christmas time, wrapped up in half a dozen layers followed by mulled wine by the fire and a game of 'pass the pudding' with family, which is why I was so grateful to be going home.

One event Dubai does do well is Halloween. It is absolutely massive out here with all the expats. I teach a performance group within Prima who basically learn routines to perform at certain events and we were asked to perform at a house party. I'm not kidding, this house must have spent thousands of pounds on their Halloween party. The decor was amazing all over the house, they had us and hand to hand men as entertainment, caterers, free bar, marquees, you name it they had it. 

Another massive event here is National UAE day. The whole country gets the day off to celebrate and it was brilliant. The sense of unity and pride in Dubai was fantastic, something England should take a look at. We spent the day sunbathing at JBR beach, listening to live music, watching horse shows and circus acts and enjoying free pizza! We then returned at night for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and to watch the fireworks. However it was absolutely heaving, everyone had obviously had the same idea and the Cheesecake Factory had a waiting time of three hours! In the end it worked in our favour and we settled with takeaway burgers on the beach watching the most amazing firework display of my life. Dubai are known for their New Years Eve fireworks and now I know why. The display went on for about  fifteen minutes, shot up into the sky from a boat in the middle of the sea! I got a henna tattoo for the occasion as I've wanted one since I arrived. 

Today I am writing this blog at the Sheraton hotel at JBR (jumeirah beach residence). We quickly discovered you can pay a fee to spend the day at a hotels facilities. Today's package includes a sun bed, towel and lunch and drinks for about £25. It's not something we do every weekend and prices can vary up to £70 for the day but once in a while it's nice to sunbathe on a quiet beach in luxury surroundings, with use of their private pools, beaches and changing rooms.

Groupon is another way to do this. Groupon in England tends to be very hit and miss as we all know, with a good deal appearing once every blue moon and most deals being for things we don't need but feel we have to buy as its a 'good deal'. In Dubai however it's a completely different ball game. Back at the end of October, (can't believe that's how long ago it's been since I wrote a blog!) I spent the day at the Sofitel hotel on the Palm. The deal included an hour back massage, lunch and use of the spa, beach, and pools all for £60. Baring in mind this is a five star luxury hotel and the massage alone usually costs £100, this was a pretty good deal! I spent the day there, being treat like a princess in paradise. 

I'm trying to do as many activities and things I wouldn't do back home whilst I'm here. At the end of last year I managed to go jet skiing. We went to a private yacht club in which my friend  was a member of, jet skied, ate lunch and sunbathed. I had jet skied once before with Dad in Barbados, however I do not remember it being so hard! The water was pretty choppy the day we went and I swear I got whiplash! It was brilliant though, jet skiing around the Burj Al Arab isn't something you do everyday! We will definitely be doing that Neil!

Although the weather is gorgeous here, and you will probably laugh when I say it is chilly on a night. But I'm not joking it genuinely is cold! I guess because the sun isn't at its strongest at the moment, as soon as it goes in the temperature plummets. Last night Kiera and I did sunset yoga on kite beach which was cut short when the sun went down and it rapidly got cold, even with a hoodie on! 

We discovered Kite beach just before Christmas. It's not very touristy and its view is out to see rather than High rise buildings and parking is free! The only downside is it is very windy (hence the name kite beach), which will be perfect in the summer when it's super hot but at the moment is a little too cool in the afternoons for sunbathing. 

It's here, running through kite beach, that lives an amazing soft 14km running track. It has become a regular Friday event that Kiera and I will get up early, go for a run and do yoga on the beach, followed by a protein smoothie from a smoothie stall on the beach called Jamba Jamba, all before 10:30 in time for a full day of sunbathing. Something I definitely would not be doing every Friday in England! 

Work here is getting busy. We have two shows coming up and the pressure is rising. The shows will take place in Dubai college theatre and will all be over with in nine weeks time when Mum and Dad arrive... A scary thought!  

My New Years resolution this year is to try and write a blog entry every couple of weeks, and to visit every emirate ... There is seven and so far I haven't left Dubai so that will be interesting! I also want to travel about a bit on weekends or holidays, maybe Sri Lanka, Thailand, Maldives, as Dubai is a perfect hub to travel from.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year, keep safe, keep happy, missing you all always xx 

Christmas tree with K at the Madinat... 

The beautiful Madinat resort...

K and Luke on lukes birthday, that cake is made entirely from ice cream!!...

Snowman selfie at Madinat...

Sofitel Spa...

Sofitel spa...

National UAE day fireworks on JBR... 

Flowers in UAE colours for national day... 

Flags on the beach for UAE day...

Henna for UAE day... 

Yoga at kite beach... 

Kieras better but she is a yoga teacher and a gymnast... 

Post run/yoga smoothie...

Backflip attempt by the sunset...

Loving life by the Burj Al Arab sunset ✌🏽️...

'And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty , your hair messy and your eyes sparkling'... 

❤️

Sunday 25th October 2015.

Good evening! 

12:54am and 27 degrees.

(Yes I'm up late - I'm watching X factor!) 

The temperature has dropped a couple of degrees, day and night, and I hate to rub it in but the weather is incredible right now. Finally cool enough to walk about in without dripping with sweat and so gorgeous to sit out in at night having a meal. 

So Sunday (the 11th) morning at 5am I woke as id forgotten to put the air con on and was absolutely boiling. I quickly checked my phone and noticed two missed calls on Skype and then had to reread a message from my friend Nicole... 

'Guess what! Me and Beth are coming to see you on monday!! and get to spend your birthday with you! .... Are we ok to stay? Xx'

They had gone on holiday together to Portugal and the weather was forecast rain all week. Being the spontaneous, crazy girls they are, they had decided to jump on a flight to Dubai the next day. So two of my best friends arrived Monday morning! 

We had a great week together catching up. 

On Monday night we went for dinner (outside Yey!) and watched the fountains, which I finally got to see working. Who knew water choreographed to music could be so amazing? If any of you visit Dubai, it definitely has to up there on the things you have to do. From 6pm-11pm they start every half hour, play to different pieces of music each time and really are impressive. 

Tuesday it was ladies night, so we went to a rooftop hotel bar (sat outside again!) and drank free prosecco accompanied by live music. 

Thursday we went for a lovely meal at the Marina.

It's been really surreal and lovely having people from home visit me, and show them where I live and what I do here etc. 

Me and the tallest building in the World...

My crazy friends came to Dubai...

Ladies night at the Rotana Hotels rooftop bar...

This past weekend was my birthday weekend. One which I will never forget. I am known to drag my birthdays out and this one was no different!

It started on Friday at a gorgeous brunch called Maya at Le Royal Meridian Hotel. There was me, Kiera, Nicole and Beth and then the friends I've made here, Rebecca, Emma, Becky and her friend from home. We arrived at 10:30am to make full use of the hotel facilities, on arrival we received fresh towels which were laid down on our sunbeds for us and a fresh damp flannel to cool our faces down with! 

We decided to go for the non alcoholic brunch and then spend the difference on alcoholic cocktails at the swim up pool bar! I absolutely love the fact that on a weekend we can do things like this and literally feel like I am on holiday. We chilled out all morning and then went into the restaurant to have brunch. The food yet again was amazing. We had nachos and dip followed by watermelon and prawns in line dressing, followed by the most delicious fajitas - chicken and steak, lobster, and lamb ribs. 

I couldn't fit in any more after that so had to skip sorbet and donuts to return back to the pool for cocktails and more sunbathing. 

We stayed until about six when the sun was going down, got changed in the pool side changing rooms (as you can imagine, not like the grotty outside changing rooms you get at home! - these included Molten Brown shampoo!)  and headed to a bar called 360. This is attached to the Jumeriah Hotel - where we went to the club Mahiki. We had to get a buggy to get there as it ended up being over a bridge in the middle of the sea! The whole bar was in a big round circle with two decks. All around was sea and views for miles.

Friday feeling at the Maya brunch...

Birthday cocktails... 

Becky and I 'can you believe it's October?'...

Kiera and I ready for fun in the sun...

The Saturday we went to the water park at Atlantis - Aqua adventure. Usually this is £60 but because Becky works within a team at the water park, we got tickets for £8 each - amazing. Baring in mind the main water park I have been to is Yorks 'Water World', aqua adventure was a little larger to say the least. The one thing that made me laugh, typical of Dubai, is usually on a ride you have to walk up the steps dragging along your massive rubber ring. Not here - you sit in your rubber ring all the way round, the ring then latches onto a conveyer belt which glides you up to the top and then down each ride. So you don't actually have to get out your rubber ring at all! There were also rides that Beth and Nicole went out that I didn't dare. 

Next to the water park was its own private beach - naturally. Because the Atlantis hotel is on the edge of the Palm (An island man made off the side of Dubai to look like a palm tree - see photo below), the sea is man made. Basically, they spent years digging up dessert and placing sea there, it does attach to the sea but it is the stillest water, except from the lakes in the Lake District, I have ever seen. It was really surreal, the water literally did not move. 

We spent the afternoon swimming, sliding and sunbathing before heading back to get changed and out again to the marina for tea at Asia Asia in Pier 7 - a seven tiered building with seven different restaurants. We sat outside and enjoyed the views of the marina and ate the most delicious food I've had since I got here.

Birthday eve dinner at Asia Asia on the Marina with a super beautiful view... 

Xxx...

The most delicious fresh duck pancakes at Asia Asia...

Gorgeous decor at Asia Asia...

Sunday 18th was my birthday! And also the day Kieras fiancé, Luke, (who is Hilarious) arrived for the week, and also the day Nicole and Beth left so it was all a bit hectic! My first birthday ever without a single risk of rain!! But also the first day I have felt a tiny bit homesick. With Beth and Nicole leaving it reminded me slightly of home and I taught all day and didn't see one person who knew it was my birthday, (cue the violins). 

However the evening turned it completely around. We went for tea up the tallest building in the World - The Burj Khalifa. Now I've written about this before when I've seen it from the outside which was breathtaking, but going inside was something else. 

Kiera, Luke, Becky, Michelle and Lesley all joined me for birthday tea and the whole experience started as soon as we arrived. We drove up and were instantly let out the car by doormen. The very first thing I noticed was how many ridiculously nice cars there were parked outside (see picture below!). We walked into the Armani entrance - there's an Armani hotel in the Burj - and were escorted and welcomed from person to person leading us where to go. The people welcoming us were spotless, dressed in all black and perfectly groomed. We were lead to the escalator and asked to take a mint so our ears didn't pop in the lift. I had a bit of a laugh about this and just thought it was another over the top touch. But no. We literally flew up the Burj Kahlifa, to floor 122 at a speed of 36km per hour or 600m per miniute, the worlds third fastest elevator. And yes, that mint is really needed! 

The lift opened and everyone in the lift literally gasped, (apart from the man who LIVED in the Burj Khalifa and had done it a thousand times!) the doors open onto massive panoramic Windows and I literally could not believe how high we were. All you can see is lights for miles. 

We arrived at At.mosphere, the worlds highest restaurant, and were lead to our table, right next to the window. I feel like I spent half the night staring out of the window and not actually engaging in conversation! Where we were sat was directly over the dancing fountains so we watched their performance, which looked brilliant from above, all lights an patterns. It didn't even look like water as we were so high! 

We spent the evening in pure luxury, drinking cocktails and fine dining. I had an amazing steak and hand cooked chips, followed by a personalised birthday lime cheesecake 

The evening felt so luxurious and classy and really will be a night I won't forget. I cannot wait to go again when Jan and Neil pay a visit! 

Yes they have booked their tickets to Dubai!! So excited to show them around here!

Me and K..

Birthday excitement...

Lesley and I...

The most lovely, hilarious couple...

The line of cars parked outside the Burj!...

Michelle and I...

My gorgeous cake...

Very happy birthday girl... 

This past week has been a week of catching up on sleep! Thursday evening I spent having dinner with Kiera, Luke, Kieras boss Matt, his wife Anna and their son Marcus at the movenpick hotel we went for drinks at the night I arrived in Dubai which was slightly surreal! 

Friday, Becky and I went back to Atlantis as I had free day pass back to Aqua Adventure with it being my birthday. Because Becky works with Atlantis in her job and she had to check up on something we got to sneak into dolphin bay, the dolphin enclosure at the Atlantis hotel where you can swim with dolphins. If you knew me as a child, you will know I was completely obsessed with dolphins so I was very excited to see them. Even though I don't agree with animals being in captivity, I can say these are looked after incredibly well and have a massive space to live in. They were amazing to watch interacting with humans and did a mini show of jumping and flipping etc at the end. We spent the rest of the day on the beach attached to the water park topping up our tans and sleeping followed by Cheesecake Factory tea with Rebecca and her friend. 

Today I had work this morning and then chilled by the pool. You know it's starting to cool down when you can fall asleep by the pool as it doesn't have a breeze there usually. 

This afternoon Becky, Kiera, Luke and I ventured down to old Dubai to visit the old souks. This was Worlds away from any of the rest of Dubai. The other guys said it reminded them of Birmingham if any of you have been there and can relate. I haven't so can't comment. There were little family run shops but hundreds and hundreds of them. All lit up but not in the flashy, glamorous way that the Dubai I am used to is. It's amazing to know this all still still exists really. 

For one Dirham (about 20p!) we travelled on a boat called a Dhow over the creek - a river which separates Deira (the centre) to But Dubai (old town). In the UK, we would have probably had to watch a safety video, paid £5, had to put on a life jacket and sit with seatbelts on these, but here we literally all piled on and just perched on a bench in the middle of the Dhow. We travelled across as the sun was setting and I didn't feel like I was in Dubai at all, Kiera said it reminded her of Thailand and it's definately what I imagine places like Thailand to be like. 

We left the Dhow and entered streets of fabric, spices, sellers and kittens - the tiniest things I've ever seen, being sold for 50dhs - about £9! 

The sellers made us laugh so much. 'Hey shakira shakira come buy, cashmere is lovely jubbly!' Shawls are practically thrown on you to try, Luke almost had one wrapped around his head at one point!! The 100 percent cashmere shawls felt amazing and were so beautiful! After some haggling (from Kiera, I was too scared!) we managed to get a one hundred percent silk and cashmere shawl for £12! Something that would be sold in England for at least £60 for not as good quality! 

We then travelled back over the water to the gold souk. Insane. Lines and lines of shops full to the brim of gold. 

To finish the night off we managed to find in between the old family run shops, a baskin and robins - an amazing ice cream chain shop! I had candy sherbet! My first ice cream in Dubai!! 

Apologies for the super long blog today - I know you will complain Eleanor - but it has been such a busy, exciting couple of weeks, I haven't had time to stop and write it all down! 

 

I've had such a fantastic couple of weeks, which have proven once again how much I love it here. I keep making one of my friends, Becky, laugh because all of a sudden I'll say 'I cannot believe I live here' or  'can you believe it's October?!' I also cannot believe I have been here eight weeks!! And have only the same amount of time until I'm home for Christmas. Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Night all 😘 xx

Dhow selfie!... 

A trip across the creek... 

Beautiful cashmere scarves... 

Gold!...

Tiny hand made Arabic shoes... 

Saturday 10th October 2015.

12pm and 38 degrees. 

 Hello! 

 So I am writing this in the middle of October by the poolside in the hot sunshine with Lionel Ritchies 'all night long' blasting out from across the poolside from a guys speakers. Life isn't too shabby! 

However last weekend was a different story... 

 After a busy week, last Friday morning I decided I would go and chill out at the pool. In an excellent jolly mood I strolled past my car to then do a double take at something that caught my eye. Scratched into the bonnet of my shiny black Kia Picanto was the word 'LOL' and right next to it a swear word. Presumably done with car keys, the words covered the entire bonnet and, with the car being black, stood out an absolute mile. 

My mood quickly changed and I rang Michelle in blind panic. She could not believe it. Due to the serious punishments out here, crime rate in Dubai is literally zero. Some people never lock there doors, on the beach you never have to worry about leaving phones and money in your bags, graffiti doesn't even exist! So this was just absolutely typical to happen to me. People since have said to me it will have either been kids messing about or somebody who was drunk. Instead of a nice lazy day around the pool, I spent the day trying to sort it all out. With the words written on my bonnet being swear words it was even more of an issue as swear words are illegal in Dubai. So I couldn't drive it to the shops etc. 

I rang the police and had to drive to the local police station to retrieve a police report so that the car company would know it was criminal damage and I wouldn't be charged. I was insanely nervous driving up to the massive white building but the police here are on your side completely and apparently love the English. I sat down and was interviewed and had to hand over my passport and legal documents etc to which I received my police report. 

Unfortunately Kiera was at home in England and my other friend Becky had also flown home literally hours before this all kicked off, so I spent the Friday evening with a film, a stress headache and pizza express delivery in bed! 

Next day I had to sort out my car. I am absolutely, completely in love with Dubai and don't have a bad word to say about it. However, communication is something to be desired! I don't mean due to the language barriers as everyone seems to speak English.

 In fact the other day I had a new girl in my class who had been in Dubai a week, her Mum came up to me and explained she was German and spoke little English. I have had this a few times especially with younger children who have just arrived in the country but luckily dance is very easy to communicate with. However another little girl in the class piped up that she also spoke German and would help the new little girl out. She then proceeded to translate every single thing I said to the new little girl, and back again to me throughout the class, in fluent German and English (very embarrassing for me). Oh and both girls were six. 

So I have since promised myself that I will learn a new language fluently at some point in my life and learn some Arabic, even if it's just the very basics, whilst I am here. But unfortunately everyone is very laid back here and communication of times and places etc is very limited. 

So I was told the car company would ring me back in a hour to organise my replacement car. Two and a half hours later after sitting in all day waiting and hearing nothing, I rang back to be told 'oh it will probably be tomorrow'. Excellent. A common saying here is 'inshallah' meaning 'God willing' so basically someone will say 'yes of course that will be with you right away... inshallah' which ends up not being right away, rather if it's meant to be it will be! TWO DAYS later I finally received my replacement car and could drive around again without being scared of being arrested and questioned about the expletives on my car. 

 Also, during the same weekend, I had to do a delivery order from the local supermarket. The supermarket is seven minutes walk from our apartment (exactly seven, Kiera timed it), however due to my car incident, I couldn't park it in a public car park. So the delivery arrived and I had apparently managed to order 1-2 kg of every fruit and vegetable instead of 1-2 single fruit or vegetables. Safe to say we haven't gone hungry this week!! 

 On Tuesday I had to do a visa run. When you enter Dubai, your passport gets stamped with a visa for a month plus ten days leeway. A working visa can take a couple of months to get sorted so whilst Michelle is sorting it out I had to do a visa run to Oman. I'm just going to point out here that I can not believe I have been here for nearly six weeks!! So basically on a visa run you need to leave Dubai, to come back in again with your passport stamped for another month. The closest place is Oman. If you know me well enough you will know that I am renowned for my nervous driving and getting lost. So to be doing a two hour journey to another country, on the other side of the road in the middle of the desert did slightly panic me. Luckily Luke, a guy that Kiera works with, also needed to do a Visa run so I wasn't driving alone. The journey there and back was supposed to, on average, take four and half hours at most. However with my luck it took six. It actually wasn't that bad at all though. Once you leave main land Dubai, The view changes from lights and sky scrapers to sand. Just sand. For miles and miles and miles. Maybe the odd camel if your lucky. The sand in the desert isn't like the stones grainy white/grey sand in Scarborough or Bridlington. It also isn't like the beautiful white sands on jumeriah beach. Desert sand is rich orange/red. Amazing. One thing which amused me is there was no road signs for people crossing or lorries to slow down. Just triangle red signs with camels on to tell you to watch out for camels crossing! As we got closer to Omen, we passed tiny villages which we drove through in about two minutes, in the middle of nowhere. We got our exit stamp from Dubai and entered Oman. I don't know quite what I was expecting of Oman, but it is absolutely beautiful. Best way I can describe it is it is like the Lake District but not so much greenery. There are huge Rocky Mountains and the odd stream here and there. We had to check through various passport check points, some were a thorough car search and others barely looked at us and smiled and waved us by. The final point was getting our entry visa back into Dubai. We had to get out our car for this and pay 50dhs for it (£9). It was in a large clean white building, very official until we noticed the Pizza Hut! 

 On Thursday I had my first cinema experience in Dubai. It was a brand new cinema in the Mall of Emirates - another amazing mall with most shops being designer. I literally walked around staring at everything. This mall doesn't have an aquarium but does have a ski slope!! So the cinema was the biggest one I've ever been in - naturally in Dubai! It had 22 screens for a start. Then there were different kind of cinema experiences... The big cinema experience - this is the one we went for. Normal cinema but much bigger than a UK cinema and with much comfier, bigger seats. Even though Dubai charge ridiculous prices for a lot of things, the cinema didn't appear to be one of them. A trip to a UK cinema will easily cost me £20 including ticket and food and drink. My ticket here cost me £6, turned out my popcorn and drink cost more than the ticket! Instead of the usual salt or sweet popcorn choice, There was caramel (what I had), sweet or cheese (absolutely disgusting, i found a piece in my caramel) 

The immerse experience - basically 3D The real 4D movie experience - apparently this features 3D cinema plus effects like rain, fog, wind, water, lightening, scents and seat movement Ultimate gold experience - the seats fully recline, with foot rests and private tables. Before the screening you have snacks and cocktails and pick your meal in a private lounge. You then enjoy high luxury of eating your meal, designed by Gary Rhodes and cooked by top chefs at your chosen time during the film. This experience also includes blankets. Something I definitely need to experience at some point whilst I'm here! 

 After a crazy weekend last weekend I have spent this weekend topping up my tan by the pool and at the beach. The weather is changing and is a few degrees cooler with a breeze, much better and easily sunbathe-able without sweating a ridiculous amount! Kiera and I found thousands of starfish yesterday at the beach where the sea meets the sand, really tiny ones. 

 This evening I am off to get my nails done in prep for my birthday weekend next weekend in which I'm going for an outdoor brunch with pool, private beach and cocktails included on the Friday followed by drinks up the Burj Khalifa on my actual birthday on the Sunday. Very excited! 

 I'm afraid to say even with stressful events, I am not missing England and the rain just yet, but apparently ten Friday's until Christmas, which means nine Friday's until I'm home! Excited to see you all. 

 Lots of love xxx

Starfish at Jumeirah beach... 

The view to Oman...

My ridiculous mistake food shop... 

Thursday 24th September 2015.

Good morning! 9:46am and 32 degrees. 

Eid Mubarak! 

This week I am enjoying five days off for the Muslim religious holiday of Eid - "the festival marking the culmination of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham" Wikipedia. 

The first night of Eid was Tuesday - a dry night where alcohol was not available anywhere, even hotels, to mark the beginning of the religious holiday. 

 One thing I absolutely love about being here is that everyone is from all over the World. It's rare that I have more than two students in a class from the same place and I absolutely love hearing about where they are from and about their culture. The children I teach all speak at least two languages, one girl speaks fluent French so I get her to translate all the French meanings for us in Ballet, which is great fun for the other kids to try and guess. When I came out here I think I was pretty ignorant of different cultures and from just being here three weeks I feel I have learnt so much, I even get in a taxi and ask them where they are from and all about the place they are from. Dubai has an amazing diverse culture.

 So I asked the children what they do for Eid, apparently it is all about giving, they go travelling to see their families, celebrate with big family meals and give presents and money to each other. I gather it is a lot like Christmas. 

 Whenever their is a Muslim holiday in Dubai, everyone gets the time off. In total there are 11 bank holidays a year in Dubai! 

Also this week, the Sheikh of Dubais son died. When someone of importance dies, the country has a period of mourning. So no music is allowed to be played anywhere apart from classical music. This applies to radio, malls, even gym classes are cancelled due to lack of music. When I first arrived here, Emarati soldiers had been killed in Yemen, so the country has been in mourning for almost the whole of September. 

 So today I spent my day off in the sunshine at the beach - white sands, clear water, blue skies and a iced green tea in hand - a far cry away from the typical rainy English bank holiday! I must say I am not missing English weather in the slightest apart from perhaps the odd Black Forest gateau hot chocolate from Costa when it's Autumnal outside. In Fact the other day I said to a group of children in class who were doing leaps across the room with heel lead, "you look like your coming down the room with your wellies on" which was received by completely blank faces. It then dawned on me that they had no idea what wellies were due to the lack of rain over here so I proceeded to explain what they were! The heat is still extremely hot, however I can feel the few degrees difference from when I got here. At night it's much cooler, I am actually able to sit out in it. Sunbathing at the beach was much cooler than the pool as you have the sea breeze. I was recommended a drink called pocari sweat, which apparently everyone here swears by. It tastes like lemon and sweat mixed together but is a absolute saviour for heat headaches! 

I haven't blogged for a while due to being pretty busy with work and getting into a routine over here. You may remember me mentioning getting lost for two hours the first week I was here, however a week last Saturday I managed to get lost for three hours. I knew exactly where I needed to be and I could even see the building but due to Dubai deciding they needed a canal running through a massive built up area, the roads were completely different and my sat nav didn't have a clue! Whilst we're on the subject of cars, I went to fill up with petrol again the other day and didn't have any cash on me. The man asked for my card and PIN number and did it all for me so I didn't have to get out the car. Dubai must be the only place you can trust someone with your PIN number and card! 

 Last Friday, a few of us went out to celebrate Kiera's birthday to brunch. It was at the Atlantis hotel - the one most of you have probably heard of in general conversation about Dubai. It is absolutely massive, has its own water park, it's own club and over 20 restaurants. Our brunch was at a restaurant there, called Saffron. It cost £100 per person, which originally I thought was a bit steep. However due to the price of alcohol over here and the sheer amount of food and drink you could get at Saffron, it was well worth the money. On arrival there was a short que to wait to check your table booking and be seated etc, however there was no need from be impatient, due to a choice of pink or white champagne whilst waiting! 

When we got in I swear my eyes nearly popped out of my head, the amount of food and drink was completely overwhelming. There was a station for every kind of alcohol you can imagine, jaeger bomb station, pimms station, slush puppie with vodka station, cocktails in pineapples and watermelons, the list goes on. 

Then there was literally every kind of food you could imagine from Chinese, to chocolate fountain, to roast dinner, to cheese board, to ice cream and toppings station. I came out feeling ten times bigger and extremely glad I wasn't wearing a super tight dress! 

 I spent Saturday out for lunch with Michelle and her friends and family at a lovely hotel and then on the evening I met Sophie, Anna and Natalie from home, who were here on holiday. We went to the Cheesecake Factory - this time I left enough room for cheesecake! We then went to see the dancing fountains but due to the Sheikhs son dieing and everywhere being in mourning, I failed to see them for the second time!

Most families seem to have nannies here, so many children are brought and picked up from class by their Nanny. By the pool last week was when I realised just how much they are part of the family! A lady was sunbathing by the pool and it wasn't for a while until I realised that the child playing in the water was her daughter playing with the Nanny so her mum could sunbathe in peace!! 

 On Tuesday evening just gone, I had dinner at Michelle's which was lovely, we had home made curry followed by wine in the garden - one thing I really love about being out here, being outside in the open air on a evening rather than inside with it raining out. We also also had a meeting about the Ballet show which will happen in March. So the next few days will be spent (apart from sunbathing) planning and starting choreography. As I write this I am currently enjoying an espresso and croissant - yes on my own Eleanor! - before teaching a twirling tots class - a class for 18 month to 2 year olds with their parents. So will eat and drink up and get to work, 

Happy Thursday everyone, 

 Xxx

The drink saving me from the heat...

My lovely flat mate and I before brunch at Saffron... 

Atlantis - the hotel where we are brunch - not a great photo due to being in a taxi whilst taking it!...

Five choices of prawn crackers...

The biggest chocolate fountain I've ever seen...

Ice cream station ... 

Watermelon cocktails, out of a real watermelon!... 

 Pineapple cocktails... 

Jäger bomb station...

Lobster anyone?...

Fairy lights, candles and wine at Michelle's... 

Note to my future husband...

When shopping in new look in Dubai, you receive free chocolate...

How bank holidays are done in Dubai... 

Breakfast this morning...