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.

[Censored]

Today I'm going to talk about censorship in Dubai from a Los angeleno's perspective. 

To start, many things are censored in the UAE, both IRL and via Internet. The Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) ultimately decides what is blocked online but some people report that there are differences between what is blocked on Etisalat versus Du, the two leading telecom providers in Dubai.

Anything that "contradicts the ethics and morals of the UAE" is blocked. Some examples of Internet censorship in Dubai include:

- content expressing hatred towards religions (especially Islam but includes other religions as well)

- dating websites (though matrimony are OK)

- gambling, pornography (including online sites such as Maxim although the print versions are available with some nudity blacked out)

Back into the real world, it's frowned upon to speak poorly of high ranking officials, e.g. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Try saying that 5 times fast. He is the Prime Minister & VP of the UAE, and constitutional monarch of Dubai. Note: the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is composed of 7 emirates. Think of it this way: UAE = USA, emirate = state, & Dubai = California.

Censorship is weird, to say the least. On one hand, everyone seems to speak more politely and pleasantly about others while OTOH no one really appears to express any negative opinions. It's strange thinking about this given my diverse background (liberal feminist psych grad from LA). 

As a blogger, I inherently censor myself when writing these posts. Beyond the usual human filter of what is/not appropriate to discuss, I am constantly cautious not to reveal too much, both in terms of my exact physical location & how I feel sometimes about Dubai for fear that I may face some unidentifiable repercussion. 

In America, we are accustomed to freedom of speech. It truly is a beautiful thing and I defend it completely. Freedom of speech is a constitutional value that many Americans use to express themselves, join groups, & find both like- and unlike-minded individuals. Unfortunately some people choose to abuse that right by creating, sharing, or downloading unsavory material (I'm looking at you, Reddit). Now that I'm in Dubai though I feel conflicted because the lack of freedom of speech feels very 1984-ish but these restrictions are clearly in place for a seemingly (mostly) well-intentioned reason. 

A couple additional resources on censorship in the UAE (the irony is not lost on me):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates#Internet_censorship

http://www.dubaifaqs.com/censorship-uae-internet.php

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. 

The Move to Dubai Marina

My boyfriend and I moved into our new furnished apartment! We're on the 12th floor with a balcony looking over Dubai Marina on one side and the rest of Dubai on the other (pics to come). Originally we wanted to stay within the 8k AED price range and this apt was just outside of that range, but after factoring what we would have been paying for bills/utilities, we actually ended up saving money. +2

Previously my bf and I have been taking taxis to and from work but now that we're close enough to the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) metro station, later this week we will be attempting the 500m walk in 95+ degree heat to the station. Gas is $1.81/gallon and the average taxi to and from work costs $10 so taxis are cheap in Dubai compared to Los Angeles ($20 on average) but we'll be saving even more by taking the metro. 

Inside the metro, there are cabins specifically designated for women and children. These female-only cabins aren't separated from the regular/mixed cabins by any physical barrier, just a posted sign indicating their status and faith that others will respect that space. 

It's still too early to make a firm judgment but being a woman in Dubai is interesting to say the least. I get special treatment (exiting an elevator first, hotel staff flagging down taxis for me) and I also get a lot more men looking at me. Men outnumber women 3:1 in Dubai and the staring has less to do with what I'm wearing and more with the fact that I remotely resemble a woman. You can wear a hijab or a bikini and the men will look either way. 

Dubai is an Islamic country and their law is based on Sharia law (quite different than actual Sharia law) which basically translates into dressing respectfully wherever children may be present (malls, playgrounds). The feminist I am, I anticipated being forced to change how I dress based on someone else's interpretations of modesty, and I was gladly mistaken - I wear the same clothes I did in Los Angeles with different variations based on temperature and work requirements. We'll see if/how my perception of dress changes with time. Until then, thank you for reading this far, and I hope you'll keep traveling with me!

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: