Booked: Sofia, Bulgaria AND London, United Kingdom

In the UAE, next week is Eid Al Fitr (the end of Ramadan).  It's a big deal.  Such a big deal that the government announced yesterday that everyone gets the entire week off work.

YESSSSS!

So naturally, Sven and I booked another trip.  This time we're going to London, via Bulgaria.  Steven and I went to London together 10+ years ago, and we've wanted to return ever since.  And with the recent Brexit upheaval, we realized that London is probably the most affordable it's ever been in our lifetimes.

In London together in 2005. So young and cute.

I'm especially proud of the airline tickets on this one.  While the markets immediately reacted to the Brexit vote, the airline prices haven't budged yet.  When I checked yesterday, it was still ~$1,200 USD to fly from Dubai to London.  But now that I'm getting better at travel hacking, I was able to hack together a route for 1/3 the price.  It means we stop in Sofia, Bulgaria for a day on each end, but we're totally fine with that.

I WIN!

End of story.

Dubai Life: Culture Shock - 3 Months

Yep, we still live in the Middle East. 

Sometimes I catch myself repeating that phrase in my head.  There's a complex mix of emotions tied to it, some of which I'll try and divulge here.  Again, this post is incredibly long.

First off -- I'm fiiiine.  My first post on culture shock was blunt, and sad, and probably written at the lowest point of this journey thus far.  It's been about 8 weeks since then, and I can honestly say it's gotten a little bit better with every passing week.  It's still all very true, but much less tragic than it felt 8 weeks ago.

And second, I want to clarify from my last post that the source of all my workaholic angst is me.  It's not the job, it's me.  No one at work told me I had to devote my entire life to it, or that I should abandon my hobbies, or stop making friends, or anything like that.  (Especially not my most recent company, which was incredibly social.)  What I've always *known* about myself but pushed to the back of my mind at various times of my life, was how susceptible I am to the concept of striving to be great at something.  Even if that something isn't what makes me happy, I still want to be good at it.  So yeah, it's complicated.

But back to the topic of culture shock.  For me, there are two components: 
1)  not understanding how to "do life" out here, and 
2)  having LOTS of free time and not knowing what to do with it (which was mostly what the previous post was about).

How to "do life" in Dubai
Honestly, we're still figuring this out but I feel like we've come a long way.  Far enough that we're just starting to really enjoy ourselves...finally.  Everything (and I mean everything) works differently here and the only thing you can do is learn via trial and error, every single day.  And I'm not even talking about culture -- just the physical acts of taking care of your house, buying the things you need, and getting through the day.  
It can be little things like going to 5 different stores to find one permanent marker - so simple but so hard! Or, learning that most stores have rotating inventories so the food, household item, dog toy, etc. that you bought last month is by no means guaranteed to be found this month (or ever again).  Or, my recent favorite - that Ziploc brand bags really are the best, and worth driving all the way across town for.  Especially if you're like me and you like to put stuff in them and shake shake shake.  So many meals have exploded all over my shirt, counter top, and kitchen floor.  
But we're also learning bigger things like that our giant water holding tank is supposed to be disinfected every 6-12 months (who knew?), and that when we hire someone to do it they bring a small and wiry person who crawls inside and scrubs every inch by hand (a very humbling thing to witness).  Or, that the Dubai police can give you a traffic ticket without pulling your over.  You get a nifty little text message that tells you all about it.  (It's fine, we totally deserved it.)  Or, that our water pressure pump can mysteriously be turned off by who knows what/whom because it's in your open-to-the-public carport (this happened today), and then your water doesn't work and you have no idea why so you spend all afternoon and call 4-5 people and schedule 2 appointments to figure it out.  After you resign yourself to getting through the next 24 hours without water, your gardener comes over (carrying a lawnmower on his bicycle no less), flips a switch and 'voila!' it works again.  

Sometimes (i.e. oftentimes), the things we don't know leave us feeling really stupid.  There isn't anything wrong with Dubai, we just never learned this stuff in the 30+ years of being Americans.  But with each new experience/lesson we're trying to remember everything so that next time, we'll know.  And so far, that's been good; easier.  I've also noticed that we're getting better at the whole marriage-teamwork-communication thing, because we have to in order to accomplish the simplest tasks here.  It's a good thing, a silver-lining.

How to fill all that "free time"
The universe has a funny way of coming full circle.  Not even a year ago, I was complaining to Steve about my lack of free time.  With all the hours I put into work, and cooking, and cleaning, and running errands, and other blah tasks to keep our life up and running, I felt bereft of any free time.  And now, here I sit with so much free time that it's driving me insane.  How appropriate.
My last culture shock post danced around it, but the real heart of the issue is this - I've spent a decade building only one part of my life.  And now that part is not enough.  I'm ready to cultivate the rest of my life and in doing so I'm asking myself hard questions about who I really am, what I want in life, and what I'm willing to sacrifice.  Those are questions I'm still working through, and I expect will consume some part of my thoughts for the remainder of my life.  

But for now - over the course of the last 8 weeks and today - I have been remembering how to be something other than an office-bot.  I continue to take pleasure in the kitchen, and have learned a couple new tricks.  I can now ferment my own kimchi, make English muffins from scratch, create a plethora of fusion tacos, and send Steven to work with delicious onigirazu for lunch. I've also perfected making margaritas from scratch (even the sweet and sour mix!), and learned that I should never ever have more than 2 big ones.  I'm still trying to master our favorite Thai dishes and Tom Kha Gai and Yum Nua are at the top of the list.  

This is exactly how we do it.  I'm the one in black.

I've also spent a ton of time reading.  It's an old friend that I haven't paid attention to for a while, mostly because I couldn't handle any more screen time/staring at more text.  But now that my day includes a lot less data-staring, I've been soaking up all the glorious words.  In the last 8 weeks I've embraced the site Goodreads as a source of new book leads (please tell me if you have other sites/sources for book leads) and have become an active user of my various library memberships.  I've read nearly a dozen books so far and rekindled my love for the Economist.  It feels good.  

And of course, for us there is always travel.  Steven and I are embracing travel as a means of coping.  And really, it's one of the best perks of being over here - everything is so much closer than it was before.  And yes, we could just be distracting ourselves by introducing new and fresh places, but right now we're okay with this.  We're having a blast.

In all, getting over culture shock is still an ongoing (but much smoother) process.  I think I'll adjust to the nuances of Dubai and the culture far sooner than I'll be able to answer the "what is your life worth" question.  But several years ago I read a graduation speech by Anna Quindlen, and the words have stayed with (i.e. haunted) me ever since. These snippets in particular seem especially relevant today:

"You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are.  So I suppose the best piece of advice I could give anyone is pretty simple: get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so very much about those things if you developed an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast while in the shower?"

"It is so easy to waste our lives: our days, our hours, our minutes." 
"It is so easy to exist instead of live. Unless you know there is a clock ticking."

"You are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on the bus, or in the car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul."

"All of us want to do well. But if we do not do good, too, then doing well will never be enough."

So that's the deal.  I'm aware of the ticking clock and the fact that I won't live - much less be young - forever.  (Calm down, nothing is wrong.  I'm just getting old.)  These thoughts have been brewing for a while, but moving to Dubai has pushed me into this headspace sooner than I would have meandered in my old life.  Now that I'm here, I'm taking a good hard look at myself and what I've created as my adult life.  There are areas I'd like to change, so I'm working on it.  And, thank goodness, there are also plenty of areas I'm exceptionally happy with and proud of, for which I'm grateful.

Sven's camera skills.

Travel: Prague, Czech Republic - The Good, the Weird, and the Shopping

This last post is a round-up of the other things we did that aren't related to food, drinks, or staring at buildings.  We did quite a bit of walking on our trip, and these photos are from the miles we put on my new sneakers (which we bought there because I didn't bring any).

THE GOOD

One of my very favorite moments was at the top of Vysehrad Fortress.  Just after you enter the walls, there is a little hill on the right side.  We walked to the top to see the view, but the shady walk down was even better.  It made us both miss living in/near the forest.

Prague was also a really dog-friendly city - there were dogs everywhere we went, and all of them were so well behaved.  We were pleasantly surprised by the large number of off-leash dogs, casually walking beside their owners throughout the city.  It made me miss Phoebe.  And Washington, for how freely she was allowed to accompany me there.

A heavily petted consolation prize

One of the fun novelties was the Paternoster (open elevator) in the YMCA building.  There are only a handful of these left in the world.

THE WEIRD

There were a couple of really bizarre things, which I loved for their strangeness.  First, I dragged Steven into the Prague City Gallery where we saw their Cronenberg Evolution exhibit.  Neither one of us are very familiar with Cronenberg, so we had no idea what to expect.  

Definitely the coolest part of the exhibit.  Photo credit: Cronenberg Evolution website

Second, on our way to BeerGeeks (good selection, but we were ~10 years older than everyone there) we stumbled upon the Biserica Preasfânta Inimă a lui Isus (ie the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of our Lord).  The church itself was unlike any I've ever seen, and the nighttime lighting added extra drama.  But the Zizkov Television Tower (ie the Baby Tower) looming in the background made it feel downright ominous.  Unfortunately, we didn't get close enough to see the creepy babies climbing the tower in the dark, but just knowing they were there was enough to feel eerie.

THE SHOPPING

We found the custom stationery shop, Papelote, shop using one of Jan and Zuzi's guides and I was pretty pleased.  I've been searching for a moleskin alternative for quite some time, and these were just what I wanted.  They're well made, attractive, and super affordable.  I bought 1/2 a dozen things here.

And this florist shop. Most quaint florist ever? Movie set? Hobbit shop?

Perhaps our favorite shop, though, was the Cihelna Concept Store.  It's practically underneath the Charles bridge, but tucked away from the heavy traffic.  The store features Czech designers - both new comers and seasoned experts - and we fell in love.  Jan and Zuzi's note said we would most certainly buy things here...and they were right.  We couldn't resist.

Tucked away

One for me, one for Sven.  Can you guess which one I picked?

And that's a wrap on Prague...for now.

Travel: Prague, Czech Republic - Architecture

Apparently, food and drinks are our highest travel priority (duh) because now I'm losing momentum on posting everything else about Prague.  

So, before I can procrastinate any further, here are the rest of my favorite slices of our trip.

As children of Las Vegas (where everything is the same), Steven and I love seeing different architectural styles in the various places we go.  When we went on the Prague Food Tour, Jan explained some of the complicated political history and how impacted their culinary heritage.  And as we walked the city over the next for 4 days, it was clear that it left a mark architecturally as well.

Can you believe this is an elementary school?

I felt like we just walked up to my 10th grade World History textbook.

In recent studies, the Czech Republic has been considered one of the least religious countries in the world.  But you'd never know it from the large number of gorgeous churches. 

I loved all the gold details (and hand-polished dog)

Dubai Life: Weather Forecast

This is the weather forecast for this weekend.

Do you see that humidity percentage?!?!

Travel: Prague, Czech Republic - FOOD & DRINKS

Okay, so first things first -- the food in Prague was delicious.  We enjoyed everything we ate and drank and it was so affordable that we did a LOT of it.

We did Jan and Zuzi's Taste of Prague Food Tour on Friday morning and it was about 4 1/2 hours of great company, amazing food, and a fascinating conversation.  Jan gave us a crash course in Czech political history, culinary heritage, culture, and where to eat all over the world.  It was really enjoyable and easily the best part of the whole trip.  I was so engrossed in the conversation and tasting that I didn't take a single picture!  Oops.

For the rest of our meals, we mostly stuck to the various guides and Foodie Map that Jan and Zuzi sent us.  Having these curated lists was an awesome way to get to know the city.  We didn't have to guess or obsessively research everything, or eat bad food (except the fast food we ate at 11pm the night we arrived), or waste much time going to attractions that were super uninteresting (ahem, the clock).  Honestly, I wish we could travel like this everywhere we go!

But enough gabbing, now the food and drinks...

First, of course, is coffee.  We tried the coffee at Bakeshop, Sisters, I Need Coffee, and Kafe Karlin, with the last being our favorite.  It was all good, but the cappuccino and macchiato from Kafe Karlin were excellent.  I think it was $4 for both.

And while the coffee at Sisters was good, their food was even better.  They serve traditional Czech open-faced sandwiches, but with a simple and modern take on the ingredients.  We initially came here on the tour, and we like it so much we went back the next day for breakfast.  The picked herring with wasabi mayo was our favorite. The total for 4 sandwiches, 1 cappuccino, and 1 homemade cucumber basil soda was $16.

On Saturday, we did quite a bit of walking and were lucky enough to catch one of the riverside farmer's markets. I've been missing these ever since we left Washington and it was one of the things I looked forward to the most.  I really miss these.  We bought a quart of strawberries for $1 and sat by the river staring at swans.

And what better way to soothe your farmers-market-missing-self than to drink French wine and nibble on charcuterie?  We sat outside at Na břehu Rhony and enjoyed a little people watching, the cool breeze, and the super helpful staff.  We are starting to really enjoy wine, but don't know much about it (especially all the pairing rules).  The staff was really knowledgeable and we loved that their presiding advice was basically "drink whatever you like best."  We had 2 glasses of wine and an assortment of meat, cheese, and olives for $15 ($20 with tip).

We really liked the various Lokals around Prague, too.  Haha, now that I think about it - we ate or drank there every single day (it was part of the Food Tour, too).  Each location has a slightly different menu and we enjoyed ordering something different each time.  By the end of the trip we'd eaten: pork terrine, pork cutlet (the best ever) with coleslaw, rabbit livers, Czech ham with horseradish whipped cream, cucumber salad, steak tartar, sausage made from Czech heritage pigs with (very mild) horseradish and mustard, picked herring, and rice pudding (which was like bread pudding, except with rice). And as good as the food was, the main attraction here was the really good beer (Pilsner because it's the Czech Republic), which we probably had about a dozen of.  The best part was how affordable it all was.  For under $30 (including tip) we could get 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, and 6 large beers (don't judge).

Our first meal in Prague. That is Sven's happy food face.

And lastly, our priciest meal was at La Bottega Bistoteka on Friday night.  Everything was perfectly prepared and we took lots of bites out of each other's entrees.  For $95 (including tip) we had 1 octopus salad, 2 entrees (braised beef cheeks with white onion puree with marscapone and truffle oil, and risotto with rabbit leg, wild garlic puree, pancetta, and morel sauce), 2 desserts (panna cotta and a fruit tart), sparkling water, and 4 glasses of wine.  DEAL.

*sigh*

Now that I've relived all these meals, I'm even more sad it's over.  We're definitely hoping to return.

The way we travel

We had such a fantastic time in Prague and I really want to share it.  It's going to take me a few days/posts to share the whole thing, but I'll get there.  

But as a preamble, I should probably explain that most of our travel recaps will be full of things we personally enjoy.  The good coffee, delicious meals, parks, markets, architecture, bits of culture we're able to absorb, etc.  Neither of us are aficionados in any of these categories; they're just the things we like.  And for the most part, our recaps will also be devoid of the main tourist attractions.  In general, it's just not something we like to do.  We make exceptions for things that are really iconic/special or that we think will be substantially better in person, so a few will pop up from time to time.  

My favorite example:

About a decade ago, I lived in Philadelphia for almost 4 years.  Sven came to visit frequently, and on one occasion he asked about seeing the Liberty Bell.  I took him to Old Town, to the very spot across the street where you can see the Liberty Bell through the giant windows (the same spot I first saw it from).  And when Sven realized you can't touch it, he lost all interest.  I asked if we wanted to go inside (because if one of us wants to, it's worth it), but he said he'd rather get lunch at the hole-in-the-wall cafe we passed on the way there. 

Neither of us have ever regretted this choice.

 

That's how we travel.

We stood right next to that little white door to the left of the bell.  Photo credit: this NPS page.

Gig Harbor House: SOLD!

We got the news in the wee hours on Tuesday - the Gig Harbor house has officially closed!  We are relieved, and happy, and thankful for everyone who has helped us through this from 1/2 a world away (yes, Dads...we're talking to you!)

I'm not gonna lie though - I was a tiny bit sad to let go of our first home. When we bought it in 2014, we knew it wasn't our forever home (if such a thing exists for us) but we expected to be there a lot longer than 18 months. We were tempted to rent it so we could hold on to it, but in the end the financial risk was greater than the emotional reward. 

But then I checked our bank account this morning.  We had gone into the sale process aiming to break even, and tried to be conservatively skeptical every time we received a net sheet.  Now that the beans are all counted, we did so much better. 

Don't lie. I know y'all do this too sometimes.

Even Sven was pleased with how it all worked out:

We are no longer home owners.  
WE.  ARE.  FREE.  
*sigh*

Dubai Life: Today was a Good Day

Every once in a while you have a day that is so bright and shiny and fantastic, that even 3 days later you can still feel the glow.  Saturday was one of those rare and perfect days.

We didn't do anything out of the ordinary, and not everything we did was great (like sitting in way too hot cars, or going to under-AC'd hardware stores, or eating disappointing icebox pies).  But that didn't dampen our day.  When Steven and I talked about it over Morrocan tea and cookies (our new favorite), we recognized it's the first day we both felt truly and completely happy here.  Half-way across the world in a simmering hot desert, surrounded by a culture we are only just beginning to understand, we are together...and still oh-so-happy.

And to us, that's really something.

A rare Dubai car ride for Phoebe.  My new favorite family photo.

The best outtake.  Can you tell she's super happy about being in the car again?

Booked: Prague, Czech Republic

Soooooo we're changing our plans and heading to Prague next weekend instead.  

Long story short, I didn't realize that Bahrain's Ramadan rules were different than the UAE's (thanks Sven for looking it up).  And since we'd like to be as respectful as possible, we figured it's just better to try again another time.  

But ahhhhhh we're going to Prague!  Have any of you been there yet?  Any recommendations?

And man...I'm so happy I didn't buy a new swimsuit since this won't be a beach vacation. (Except I totally did, on Amazon, like 36 hours after I wrote this post.)  Oops.  Whatever, it was on sale.  We'll beach it up after Ramadan!

Lately: Lazy Swimsuit Mind Tricks

I've been psyching myself up to buy a new swimsuit for weeks. But I can't tell if I just got too lazy to keep looking, or somehow jedi mind-tricked myself into liking something I didn't 12 hours ago.

How I felt when I tried on my existing swimsuit:

So I went shopping and found the perfect(ish) one:

And then checked the price:

So I looked for others that are less perfect but still good enough.  But that didn't turn out:

(Or, for my non-Southwest folks:

 )

So I rationalized that I would wear the perfect(ish) one all year round here and for multiple years and it's therefore worth the price: 

But they were out of stock in my size (which is a no-go...like limbo):

So I continued searching for more swimsuits but after the perfect(ish) one, they all just feel meh:

So I just try on my old one again:

Did I just do this to myself?

Whatever, I still feel like I accomplished something.