We moved into our apartment this week.  We are going to like it a lot once we get settled.  Our first night here we decided to take a swim and relax - it has a great pool and gym.  We weren't out there ten minutes when Bill slipped on the wet tile and went down.  He never saw it coming and crashed down on his back, clipping the back of his head on the edge of a tile step!  I'm convinced he was knocked out for a few seconds because he didn't answer me and was very still.  He was bleeding like crazy.  Someone called a ambulance and they took him to the hospital.  He ended up with 5 stitches.  They did a CT scan to make sure there was no internal damage - and found nothing (kaboom, ching!).  LOL  That was Bill's joke - I'm not sure the doctor could relate to Bill's humor.   Also, when the doctor asked if he worked and if he would be able to take it easy for the next couple of days, Bill told him that he works for me as my manservant (he made up that name for his 'role' when we moved to Poland 4 years ago), so he thought he could get some time off.  I'm not sure this Middle Eastern doctor got that one either!  Anyway, I was glad he was able to joke by that point.  There's about 45 minutes - from when he got out of the pool until he was in the ambulance - that he doesn't remember at all.  He was talking to us some during that time, but he was very quiet and disoriented.  It was scary, but I'm thankful he's okay.

Below are some pictures from our time in Dubai - mostly from when Jen was here visiting. 

At my school, we had graduation in June.  It was a women only affair, and we were given abayas to wear.  The Emirati women wear something similar to this every day, plus a head scarf.  It was very comfortable.  I sort of wish I could just throw one of these on everyday and not have to worry about what to wear!  It was a women only affair because the Sheika (kind of like the queen - first wife of the Sheik) came and presented the graduates with their diplomas.  Being all women, the plan was for the girls to be able to not wear their abayas and head scarves.  However, because there was some man from the palace there in the sound booth, many girls didn't uncover for the ceremony.

There are so many malls in Dubai.  Jen said she never thought it was possible to get tired of going to malls!  They are pretty amazing places.  The one below is one built to look like the traditional architecture in Dubai.  The inside looks like an old souk.

The Mall of the Emirates is famous for it's indoor ski slope. I posted pics of that back in February.  Below is a picture of what a man-made indoor ski slope looks like on the outside.

Below is the mall I described in my previous post, where each section is a different country.  They are, in order:  Persia, India, China, and maybe Tunisia.

Family in Persia below.

Tallest building in the world.  Jen says she will never go to the top of it!

This building below is near the Mall of the Emirates.  It is freaky because it is built in the shape of a triangle, so you can't see the side of the building from this angle. It looks like a fake building on a movie set or something. 

Scenes around town, touring, beach, etc.

We went on a desert 'safari' where they take you dune bashing and the other things I described in my previous blog.  Below are the pics from that trip.

The camel farm

Above is a dung beetle pushing a piece of camel dung!  It pushes it backwards so that it's head is facing the ground away from the dung.  Smart beetle!

Claudia, my shy and reserved child joining in (with other people, not alone thankfully!) with the belly dancer. 

Looks like Bill had a little too much of the flavored tobacco!

Jennifer sitting on a camel. That's the closest she would come to riding it!