1 Year Abroad!

Wow, it's already been exactly 365 days since my fiance & I left Los Angeles to travel halfway across the planet. While it was scary at first it has definitely been an amazing adventure I wouldn't trade for the world. To celebrate our first year away I thought it'd be fun to look at the year in review!

In this year we have been so fortunate to gain so many new experiences: my fiance worked at a top 10 company in the Middle East, I took my first managerial role before becoming a private consultant, we learned Arabic & Turkish, and so much more.

It was nerve-wracking and painful to leave our loved ones, home and comfort food behind

But we plunged into a new world together, moving up and exploring Dubai

We saw some pretty amazing sights

And started a new chapter of our lives together :)

 

In March 2014, we moved to Ankara, Turkey

And I quickly learned why people fall in love with this city

So far I've seen Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Oman

And I can't wait to see where life takes us next!

From our engagement at the Jetty Lounge in Dubai, attending my first world conference (Arab Health 2014) & shopping at the Souks to enjoying the relaxed Turkish lifestyle, witnessing protests & releasing our first joint Android app, it's hard to believe how much has happened in one year.

To my dear fiance, if you're reading this, thank you so much for taking me with you on this adventure. There is so much to celebrate - new friends, languages, experiences, cultures - and I am so deeply appreciative of and humbled by these opportunities. While we still haven't decided where to head next (Spain, Indonesia, Greece?), I am happy anywhere as long as it's with you.

2013

Over the span of 12 months in 2013:

* graduated from university (after taking courses as a visitor on a different campus)

* moved to another country (and left the US for the first time...)

* found a managerial position (and was promoted again 3 months later)

* got engaged (I can't believe how blessed I am to have him)

* began learning new languages (ASL, Arabic, Turkish) & how to cook

Wow... Life is a dream! 2013 flew by and we're already in the second month of the new year. Here's to growing, connecting, and celebrating in 2014. 

What I've Learned these last 5 Months

The biggest realization I've had since moving to Dubai is that I'm privileged. I learned about my privilege when I took my first Women's Studies course in 2008, but it remained a mostly invisible backpack of opportunity until I moved to Dubai and it grew too heavy for me to ignore. 

I'm financially privileged as I was raised, received a quality education, and worked various jobs in one of the most expensive cities globally. I was fortunate enough to save sufficient funds from these jobs to move out of that city and into another one of the most expensive places to live globally.

Dubai is home to many western (British, American) expats. It's likewise home to many Asian (Filipino, Indian, Pakistani) expats.

I can't tell you what it felt like when I made a local phone call and expected a Filipina receptionist to answer. When I hail a taxi and know I'll be greeted with a male driver from Yemen or Pakistan. When I walk into a business building and have the door opened for me by Indian office cleaners.

...I've had the door opened for me by my parents and their parents who chose to immigrate to America 30 years ago. I've had the door opened for me by the government which helped fund my education. I've had the door opened for me by the Latino guy I bought my car from to go to school. 

There have been too many people in my life who have consciously or unconsciously provided me with the means of getting where I am today. I can't tell you what it feels like when I survey the beautiful business towers hovering above me and remember all the cheap laborers who were crushed under their weight. 

I am a western-educated American who graduated without debt. I am inconceivably more privileged than I ever appreciated in Beverly Hills, CA, when I would stupidly bemoan my poor material state compared to that of my peers. I'm disappointed that it took moving to another country to remember how privileged I am. 

Here's to self-awareness, gratitude, & being happy with what you have, not having what makes you happy.

Saturday Night Special: Dubai's Architecture

I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this experience become a reality. 

A Day in the Life: Taking the Metro

Now that I've become more familiar with the city, I feel comfortable taking the metro several times a day: from home to work, work to my boyfriend's work, my bf's work to Mall of the Emirates, etc.

Price: It's a real $$ saver (between 0.50 and $2.50 per trip depending on distance) compared to taking a taxi (between $2.50 and $10 per trip). LA's subway costs $1.50 regardless of distance and taxis are $10-$20 per trip. 

I go from Dubai Marina to Nakheel when going from my work to my bf's

Time: 10 min walk from my house to the metro station, 5 mins to traverse the station, 1-2 minutes for the actual trip, followed by another 10 min walk from the station to my work. It's about a 30 min trip overall; waiting for and taking a taxi is in the same time range but is unreliable as it depends on traffic.

2 stories high

She took a midnight train going anywhere...

Speed: The metro is actually faster than a taxi since there's construction going on by my work and I bypass all the resulting traffic. RTA (Road & Transport Authority) has also circumvented the issue of who enters/exits the compartment first by clearing outlining how to enter/exit the cabin.

Well defined boundaries. How refreshing.

Safety: As an added bonus, transit authorities have extended the women- and children's-only carriage to earlier in the morning & later in the evening. While I wasn't able to snap a picture of the non-physical divide between the regular and special compartments, men usually respect the women's need to a safe space.

LA vs Dubai: Compared to Los Angeles's metro, Dubai's metro is the clear winner. Guards are located outside and inside the metro station. LA uses "tap" cards while Dubai uses "nol" cards but they can both be used for subways and buses. Nol cards up the ante though by offering various cards depending on your needs: gray (anonymous), blue (personal), gold (VIP) and red (tourist) offer different benefits whereas LA uses a "one-size-fits-all" policy. Plus in LA you're guaranteed to wait 15 minutes between trains while in Dubai it's a max 5 minute wait. In all fairness though, it seems that Dubai planned their roads better. 

See any traffic? No? That's what I'm talking about. 

Regardless, LA needs to get its shit together. 

Last week in Los Angeles

This is Shabbaaaat!!

Emma 09/14/2011

Mom & aunt

We celebrated our last sabbath tonight. I spent some quality time playing with Emma, my almost 2 year-old cousin (my Wet n Wild lipstick suffered a casualty), my brother Ash and my aunts. Saying goodbye was bittersweet. It was surprisingly difficult to part from my aunts. We aren't necessarily close but something about hugging them farewell made me awkwardly realize how much of an influence they've been in my upbringing up to this point.



My boyfriend drove us to Pomona Valley Hospital early this morning for me to get a stat echocardiogram (sonogram for the heart). Fortunately I've gone from needing them every 6 months to every 12 months since my aorta has stayed the same size since my last couple checkups. I was due to go in November but as we won't be here, I got it done now. Here's hoping for consistent results.

You should see the size of HIS heart! Aww.

I've downloaded a few travel apps to help prepare for our arrival. The 16 hour flight doesn't have internet so hopefully these and other apps will keep me entertained. If you have any app suggestions, please comment! I may write a review in upcoming posts.


We're officially moving out of our Burton Square apartments on Tuesday. Packing, selling, giving away, etc is not going to be the business. I sense a migraine already.

The iPhone generation

There's so much going through my head at the moment it feels like a whirlwind came and swept me off my feet, swallowed me inside it, and is propelling me forward at breakneck speed. At least it's not a sandstorm like the ones we'll experience in Dubai, right? Guys? Hello?

The First Step

It's begun. Or rather, it began back in November when my boyfriend Chris talked about us traveling and leaving the country. Now our flights are booked for August 23rd, literally 30 days from departure. While we'll be back to visit, I have a few to-do items on my LA bucket list:

* Finish Arrested Development
* Play on the swings at Roxbury Park
* Another themed party (wine, cheese, and crackers anyone?!)
* Shabbat
* The Getty
* Shul/temple
* Write a really mean Yelp review ;)
* Play soccer at La Cienega Park
* In n Out
* Diddy Reise in Westwood
* Kitchen 24 (they have the. best. black coffee)
* Jinky's Cafe
* CHIPOTLE
* Cheesecake Factory

What do you think? Is there anything else I forgot that I should add to the list? Reply in comments! I'd like to update my blog regularly as a way of staying connected with everyone but can only really do that if y'all participate. Since this is my first post, I'll end with this Internet image: